ing it forth in the dawning of a new year, we
send with it our sincere wishes that all our
readers may know much happiness in 1908.
We hope that before the year is out, the Eagle
will have found its way to the many old
Royals who are still apparently in ignorance
of its existence. The nine monthly copies,
comprising Volume I, are being bound ina
strong, neatly designed cover, and will shortly be ready for sale Those desirous of purA
chasing volumes should register their names
v early.
Although, comparatively
number of subscribers to
few, its range of circulation is
to that of many publications

sands of readers.

speaking,
the
the Eagle are
probably equal
boasting thou-

Already we send copies to

all parts of lndia, to Tnibet, Ceylon, England,
Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Norway,
and Australia, and now we are in receipt of a
request to forward copies to China.
The letter comes from an old Royal, who is

Nu. 1

greatest interest. When the list of diners at
the Old Comrades‘ Revunion arrived, it was read
out in the Sergeants’ Mess, and quite an enthusiastic scene followed, each name as it
left the speaker’s lips being greeted with
shouts, every one trying to be ﬁrst to fit a- nick
name or regimental number to it. Then followed anecdotes and adventures in which the
particular old chum once ﬁgured as the hero,
and many tales, serious and humorous, were
recalled and recounted, and remained the
order of the day.
The dinner is described by several correspondents, as “the happiest evening of my
life.” Captain Parsons assures us he has gone
into strict training for the next one ! .Vlr.
Finn adds a humorous, yet pathetic touch by

telling us that when the diners were asked if
they would listen to a musical programme, or
would prefer to talk, they cried as in one
voice, “Let’s have old buck!" A full account,
for which we are indebted to Captain Hard“7le. will be found in the present issue.
in the memories of the oldest soldiers

employed on the British Legation Guard,

among us, no more successful Christmas has

Peking.

been seen in the Royals, than that of 1907. In
the ﬁrst place, when a regiment is athome, ﬁfty
per cent of its memoers go on leave at
Christmas. Here, for obvious reasons, they do
not. Seciindly, previous years,out here, have

Ernest

Daniels

(late

Private,

No.

4660.) writes ti say he saw an extract from
the Eagle, in the Broad Arrow, and would be
glad to become a subscriber, as

“anything

connected with the old Corps interests me
greatly.” We are sending copies by the next
mail, and are glad to know our old comrade is
doing well
We have to remind our readers at home
that. news of them is eagerly looked for out
here by all ranks, and letters from them, we
are Conﬁdently assured, would be of the

seen us either on, orjust returned from manoeuvres, and so allowing of no arrangements.

Further, the weather during the holidays was
gloriously coll. 'l‘here was an abundance of
good things edible, and every one seemed

happy 'l‘he men had been to some trouble
to decomte their bungalows, and by dint. of

much perseverance succeeded in transform-

2

THE

EAGLE

THE EAGLE
ing usually dismal barrack-rooms into verit-

One other record was established, when on

able fairy palaces;
Festoons, ﬂowers, foliage, garlands, greet-

, Friday, December 27th,]907, the Commanding

ings and mottoes met the eyes of the Colonel

Ofﬁcer, on arrival at Orderly Room, was
greeted with,“ No prisoners, Sir !”

and the ofﬁcers when they visited the dinners

to wish the men the season’s compliments.

The annual Christmas Tree and School
Prize distribution took place on the afternoon
of
December 28th, when
the married

In the Sergeants’ Mess all the members
and their womenfolk assembled to meet the
Colonel who, with several of the ofﬁcers, came
to drink the health of the members
In a
speech, he brieﬂy reviewed the events of the

people and children of the regiment turned

year, and expressed his pleasure at the high
state of efﬁciency of the regiment, which he
hoped would shortly be higher still.
Over thirty members sat down to dinner
which, we understand, is a record number.
The following is a copy of the menu : —

out in full strength on the cricket green.
After performances by native jugglers and
acrobats, an excellent tea was served in mar.
quees. Then followed races, and lastly. the
prize-giving in the gymnasium.
Mrs. de Lisle, assisted by the ofﬁcers and
ladies who were kept busy stripping the
huge Christmas Tree, presented the many
ﬁne toys and prizes. It was a very pleasant
little function.

Being written in Hindustani, we confess to
being alittle puzzled, but are informed that
full justice was done to the dishes the above
represented

Squadron smoking concerts were held
during the evening, and in spite of the thou—
sands of miles which separate India and Home,

per in their mess on the 31st, and a punch
bowl was served to greet the New Year in the
old-fashioned way. On New Year’s night they
gave a Quadrille Party. which was largely
attended and very successful.
The Regimental Athletic Sports were held
on 30th and 31st December and 1st January,
and. as anticipated, were very popular. A full

account will be found elsewhere in this numher.

Brigadier-General issued a memorandum,
congratulating the troops on their smart appearance, and the excellence of their parade
movements.

Forty-one non-commiSsioned oﬂEcers and
men— time-expired, and transfers to the Army
Reserve—left Lucknow on the 31st ultimo for
Bombay. where they embarked on the H, T.
“ Plassy," sailing for England. The majority
are splendid, seasoned soldiers of between
seven and eight years’ service, and their
departure means agreat loss to the corps.
We wish them good fortune in their new
sphere of life.
Count Quadt Wykradt [smy, German Consul-General in India, has been appointed
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary for Germany at Teheran.
Count Quadt, it was, who presented the
silver cup to the regiment, which is now played for annually as an inter-Squadron Foot ball
trophy. The Count and Countess will be

dier-General Sir J. R. L. Macdonald, K.C.I.E.,
C.B., on New Year’s Day, to celebrate
the anniversary of the proclamation of
H. M. the King as Emperor of lnclia, colonel

Albani, and a small talented company, Which

included William Green, the tenor, and Mr.
Hadyn Wood, a clever violinist. The perform-

The article on Polo, published in the present
number, is taken from a. pamphlet written by
Prince YaverHussain Khau,0f Palanpur. Popuacknowledged to be the grandest game in
existence, this brief description of its origin
should be of interest to all our readers.

best tenor Lucknow has probably ever heard.
We learn with deep regret from the English
The violinist, too, came in for repeated ova-

press that General Gordon Graham met with

proved as jolly as could be wished.

past and returned to quarters.

Later, the

ance took place in the Chutter Munzil, United
Service Club.
Albani herself who, whilst
somewhat disappointing to those who heard
her years ago at her best, nevertheless retains sufﬁcient power and range of voice, to
impress those who had not, was enthusiastically reCeived. William Green in “Sally in
our Alley," and “Songs of Araby," was the

a very serious accident as the result of a blast
ing explosion which occurred during the
blasting of trees on the General's estate at
Mosskuowe. Later reports, we are glad to
say. assure us he is progressing very favour,ably. We express our sympathy, and sincere
wishes for our old Colonel’s speedy recovery.

we hear on all sides that Christmas, 1907,

McNay, formerly Troop Sergeant-Major, and
lately landlord of the Crosskeys Hotel, ColChester.
The deceased was accorded a military funeral, and the local papers describe the
attendance at the ceremony as “one of the
largest crowds which ever thronged the
cemetery.” Messrs. Hatherall and Wynne,
eX-Royals, were among the mourners, whilst
ﬂoral tributes were sent by Messrs. Parsons, Finn, Bee, Simmons, Bowles, Greenwood, Phillips, Pye. Norton, Weightman and
Perry—all old Royals.

they had made many friends.

Major Steele took command of the regiment.

considerably marred by a high wind, and, con—
sequently, much dust
After the usual few
de-joée, and three cheers, the troops marched

The sad news is just to hand of the death

of an old Royal in the person of Mr. E. W.

greatly missed in Simla and Calcutta, where

de Lisle commanded the Cavalry Brigade, and
Crowds of people assembled to witness the
parade, the spectacular effect of whch was

Sir Ralph Gore has evidently become
a motor enthusiast, as we read in the Home
papers of a match between another amateur
and our late signalling ofﬁcer, being held at
Brooklands, the now famous motor track.

On December 17th, Lucknow was given an
unusual musical treat in the shape of a concert
by the famous dramatic soprano, Madame

lar both in India and at home, and generally

All troops in garrison paraded under Briga-

3

tions, and from a layman’s point of view, looks
like a coming star.
The regiment is at present busy With brigade drills.

For several days we have been

manoeuvring as a cavalry brigade along with

“S " Battery, R. H. A.. under the command of

.4

‘

LT.‘.H.E. LE AGLE
TH‘E»,E’AGLE

Colonel de Lisle. Later, there is to be a series

of operations in concert with all troops in the
garrison. Several of our oﬁicers, too, are
allotted commands in a Staff Tour, which is to

be carried out shortly. With a large number
of recruits and remounts undergoing training as well, we expect to be fully employed

the Trial Chase Plate, but neither succeeded
in running into a place.
The latter fell
at the water jump,
but was fortunately
unhurt
On the last day at Toll gunge Mr.
Charrington twice secured third place, in the
Suburban Plate on Nell Gwynne. and in the
Hunters’ Handicap chase on Bluebell.

HISTORICAL RECORD
Of the First or the Royal Reg ment of Dragoons containing an account of its formation in the reign of
King Charles the Second, and of its subsequent services to the present time.
By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(Continued)
In April, 1705, the Royal Dragoons advanc-

The ﬁrst week in the

meetings, and also of Tollygunge Steeple—
chases. In these meetings the
regiment
was represented by Mr. Miles’ trio—Chassepot, Daphne, and Senator—no other horse,
owned in the regiment, started. Unfortunately Mr. Miles experienced extremely bad
luck and our sympathies are with him, to

gether with a wish for better luck next time.
Chassepot was second on three occasions, and
third once out of four starts. In a hurdle
race,

by the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Watson, to

proceeded on the 18th of May to St. Ubes,

guards, the regiments of Barrimore, Money,

whom the thanks of all followers of the hunt
are due, hounds soon found a jackal, and got
away over agood line of country, killing in
the open after a fast twenty minutes. Later
in the afternoon, another jackal provided an
excellent hunt of thirty-ﬁve minutes’ tlura.
tion, and was eventually marked to gr‘und.
Hounds have hunted twice since, but nothing

and thence to Lisbon, there to receive horses

..nd Donegall. and the Prince of Hesse Went
on board the Namur.
“Wee sailed from Gibraltar up the Straits,

in the way of a run has resulted.

At present

second to Mallard, the best jumper in India,

by a short head.

the going is very trying alike to horse and
bound, and we cannot hope for any improvement until a welcome fall of rain.
Oddly enough, shortly after
above,

writing

sent out from Ireland, and a batch of recruits;
the former being distributed thus—120 to
Hervey’s Regiment of Horse, now the 2nd
Dragoon Guards, of Queen ’5 Bays ; 400 to the

Royal Regiment of Dragoons; 800 to Cunningham’s Dragoons, now the 8th R. I.
Hussars ; and 481 to Winterﬁeld’s Dragoons.

we were treated to a violent wind

He was third on the open-

and rain storm, which, commencing unfortu-

nately on the night of the Garrison Bivouac,

race—the Zeerut Plate—at the third extra

miserable night, as most of them were

meeting, but managed to run into third place

out tents, and came in to barracks in the
morning looking very bedraggled.

Handicap

at- the ﬁrst

meeting, on which occasion she was ridden
by her owner. At Tollygunge on the ﬁrst
day she was unplaced in the Pony Steeple-

chase, but ran second in the Handicap chase
0n the last day.

lingered throughout the following day, nearly
an inch of

rain

fell.

The

troops

Meanwhile in England, another expedition
had been titted out in aid of the cause of
Austria,of which the land force was

com-

manded by Lieutenant-General The Earl of
Peterborough, arriving at Lisbon at the

the

ing day at 'l‘ollygunge in the Indian Grand
National, being beaten by Mallard again and
Kipling. Daphne was unplaced in a hurdle

in the Pony Hurdle

spent a
with-

Major Balfour has asked us to publish the
Minority Report in connection with the Memorial Cottage Home Scheme. This and the
letters he forwards explains at some length
the merits of a Memorial Fund as against that

kiss the King’s hand, and promised to sett
upfor him. Some of these performed their
word soon after."
Leaving Altea

Bay, on Sunday, the 9th of

the Royal Dragoons with Cunningham ’s and
four regiments of Foot,

anchor above it, and on

were included,

and

his force the Archduke Charles resolved to
On the 28th of July, 1705,
embarked at Alcantara,
days

the east

Bar-

side, when

theinfantry began to land on the 22nd, the
Royal Dragoons disembarked on the 24th and

accompany in person.

the regiment

the Archduke ﬁve

previous, having gone on

board

the

encamped near ariver called Bassoz, on the
east side of the city and about. a mile from the

walls.
The siege of Barcelona was considered a

erelngh, his determination to accompany
the troops, being on several accounts by no

romantic enterprise,

means agreeable to Lord Peterborough,

interest in every nation in Christendom.
The
garrison equalling in strength, the besieging

but

which could not with propriety he refused.

respondence this month, but we would draw
readers‘

ton.

copies of which will be found in all institutes.

in great numbers, and where upwards of ten
thousand, came on board of the Britnnn a. to

celona, coming in sight of the city on
Saturday, and passing on. they came to

Mr. Tomkinson had three mounts at Telly-

Jasper in the Hunters’ chase—~on the ﬁrst,

kingdom of Valencia, where wee halted for
four or ﬁve days near a little town called
Altis (Altea) where the country people ﬂocked

end of June, the expedition into Catalonia and

gunge and was placed third twice—on War-

reports,

along the coast, and came to Altea Bay in the

Valencia was promptly decided on, in which

St. Pierre writes :—
“Wee embarked thirty-seven men fl‘om
every troop, and all the ofﬁcers but Captain
Killigrow. Lieut. ’I‘opham. and G. M. Doning.

attention to the printed

ments that were to remain there, wee took in

their room all the marines: the battalion of

August, the ﬂeet continued on towards

of the proposed Cottage Home, which latter he,
with many others, does not consider workable.
We regret we are not able to publish the cor»

/sprite in the Pony Hunters’ Chase and on

evening the ﬂeet in sight at the head of him,

and who lay by all night, thinking the ﬂeet
would do the same, wee left the said ﬂeet,
and were obliged to come without convoy as
far as Gibraltar, in company with another
transport, and wee arrived there safely.
“ The ﬂeet being all joined there, and
having landed Elliott’s and Enﬁeld’s regi-

The regimental hounds had an excellent
day’s sport on Christmas Day. Meeting at
Kokrail after a sumptuous luncheon provided

at the second extra meeting, he was

and this he followed by running second in
the Grand Annual, another hurdle race at the
ﬁrst meeting. Then, ﬁnally at Tollygunge,
on the last day, he vvas for the third time
placed secondin the Tollygunge Plate, beaten

I705, witha fair wind. God grant us good
success.
“ By the fault of the master who had in the

ed with the army into Spanish it'stramadura, and were present at the capture by
storm of Valencia de Alcantara, on the 9th of
the month, and of Albuquerque, whence they

New Year saw the

end of the Calcutta Extra and First Race

5

“ The ﬂeet set sail from Lisbon, July ye ‘28,

which excited a lively

army within about 2,000 men, success, ac.
corded to the ordinary rules and chances of
war. appeared impossible. The siege, howher, the strong fortress of Montjuick, built on
:11e10ftiestot a cluster of heights in the im‘

ever, was commenced on the 14th of Septem

6

THE

mediate vicinity of the city, which it screened
from approach on the inland or western side,
was attacked and taken after a resistance of
three days, which success, however, cost the
life of the Prince of Hesse, of whom St. Pierre

thus speaks :—
“The Prince of Hesse dyed within a few

hours of his wounds, mightily lamented by
all that knew him, for he had all the good
qualities thata man could have to gain the
affections of the people—handsome of his
person, valorous, generous, and ready always
to do good, but especially the Catalans had a
singular estime and veneration for him. He

was a younger brother of the House of Hesse
Darmstadt. He served ﬁrst amongst the
English, and had an English regiment of
Foot given him. He was at the battle of the
Boyne with King William. but afterwards the
King of Spain having married a sister of the
Elector Palatine, a near relation of the prince,
he went into Spain and changed his religion :
was made General of the Horse, and behaved
himself very well during the siege of Barcelona
in the year 1692. He made several salyes, in
which he did the French a great deal of thischief, and got mighty reputation. After the
peace was concluded he was made Viceroy Of
Catalonia; and there it was that by his
sweet temper and 'just and moderate com.
mand. he won the hearts of people in such a
manner that after his death every one mourned as if it had been for a father.
“ King Charles being dead, and the Duke
of Anjon having taken possession of the

EAGLE

THET. ELA‘G L E

to march out, agreeably to the terms of the
surrender, a serious insurrection broke out
among the inhabitants, who attacked the
houses of the French and others known to be

Among the great leaders of Cavalry of the

past, some of the most skilful are least known

and the garrison.

The Earl of Peterborough,

however, marching in at the head of a troop of
the Royal Dragoons and a detachment of
Grenadiers, restored order and ti'aimuillity,
in doing which his lordship very nearly fell a
victim to his humanity, for while escorting the
Duchess of Popoli, whose husband, a Neapolitan nobleman, was a lieutenant-general in the
army, a ball ﬁred by one of the rioters passed
through the Earl's periwig.
By the conquest of Barcelona, at which, as
Dr. E‘reind observes, "all Europe wondered," nearly every town in Catalonia declared

for King Charles III., and St. Pierre says :—
“’I‘hetroops expected to have some good

with

King

romances, and

many

of these

soldiers at-

tained a well-deserved reputation as leaders,
which, had they lived in Europe, would have
entitled them to rank with the best
Such a one was Skinner, the man who rais‘

ed and trained the ﬁnest body of cavalry,
perhaps, ever seen in India, which was the
origin

fatigue. Instead of that, they were crowded
into several baraques or convents, where they
had no beds nor ﬁring, nor any accommoda.
tion, notwithstanding the fair promises the
gentlemen of ye country had made them to
encourage them to go on with the siege. The
oﬁicers having no quarters allowed, were fain
to hire lodgings of the inhabitants, which
would not let them under a year’s time, and
half of it in hand. Complaints were made of
that ill-usage to the King ; but as it was one
of the privileges of the inhabitants not to

known as the lst and 3rd Skinner's Horse.
Skinner started in life with every possible
disadvantage, which makes his ultimate position all the more marvellous. Horn of a

of

those two

ﬁne

regiments

now

mixed marriage, his mother being a Rajpoot,
he was just an ordinary Eurasian whose tighting abilities are now so much despised. At
the same time, both his parents came of
ﬁghting races, and he himself was a cheery-

lookinglittle fellow, wiry and active, and able
to endure the hardest work. His appearance
was deceptive until the light of battle ﬂashed

quarter any souldiers, the King dared not

into his face, when his bearing and count en-

gratitude and

ance became transformed. Assiduous practice had made him a master of cavalry

generosity were

along

in mOdern times. and their achievements
have been passed over by historians. This is
more especially the case with those soldiers
of fortune who served in the rival armies of
Indian princes towards the end of the eigh<
teenth century. In spite of the obscurity
of the times in which they lived, the records
of several of these leaders are veritable

quarters and some refreshment after their

from

came

IV, Colonel Skinner.

lng even to massacre the Governor Velasco

oblige them to it, and their

he

BY COL. Hon B. DE LiSLE, 0.8., D.S.O,

in the interest. of the Duke of Anjou, threaten-

crown of Spain, he retired into Germany,
whence

FAMOUS CAVALRY ' LEADERS.

not great

Charles, who gave him the title of Vicar-Gener

them to it.

being something cold and

to which he

In the meantime, the weather
owed his life on many occasions, resembled

useful man that was come out of Germany
with him. "
The fall of Montjuick led to that of Barcelona, where the governor capitulated on the

‘9thof October.

On the garrison preparing

lowest straits, and even earned his living for a.
time asa coolie in bazaars, carrying merchants’ packs for four annas a day. His
state coming to the notice of his godfather,
the latter gave him a chance by sending him
to Cawupore withaletter to de Boigne, the
French adventurer, who then commanded the
Mahratta army.

Skinner

was gazetted en-

sign in a regiment of Fviot commanded by
Colonel Sutherland, and soon proved that he
pnsessed marked ability, as well as soldierly
instincts.
At this ti he the territory governed by the
East India. Company consisted only of small
tracts of land near Calcutta and Madras, and
the. Island of Bombay. The remainder of
Hindustan was ruled by various Rajsrs, of
which the most powerful were Dowlat

Rao,

the Mahratta chief known as Scindla, and the
Peisnwa from the Deccan.
Both these
princes employed European ofﬁcers to train
and lead their troops, and it was to a regiment of Scindia’s that Skinner was gazetted.
In one of his ﬁrst engagements, Skinner
distinguished himself against the troops of
the Peishwa, who was then waging war with
Sclndia. Left as a rear-guard with two companies and a gun to hold agorge against over~
whelming numbers, his gun broke dowu When
he was retiring. Refusing to abandon it, and
calling on his men "to die defending it like
goodsoldiers," he ﬁred his native tro ms with
his own

dauntless

spirit-

They

not

only

checked the pnrsuers, who were greeted with
a storm of grape and a volley of musketry,
but even made a countercharge and captured
three stand of colours.

The gun

Was saved

enough to move
weapons; his swordsmanship,

a] of Arragon. lt \\ as an extraordinary loss
the King had in him. In that juncture of
times being certainly the greatest and most

7

rainy,

no

ﬁring
sleight of hand,

allowed them, lying upon the bare stones in
the galleries of the convents, the men fell

sick, and in a little time wee lost near the
third part of our army. Att last it was resolved to send them into the country, which
might as well have been done at ﬁrst.”
(To be continued.)

and even with the lance he

surpassed all his own troopers, mest of whom
had handled that weapon from childhood.
Skinner began life, apprenticed to a printer
in Calcutta, but his wild spirit could not

and the retreat made good, and the next day
Skinner was honourably mentioned in despatches and received promotion.
Later on we hear of Skinner distin—
guishing himself in the terrible wars between
the

Mahrattas and

the

Rajpootse—wars in

tolerate such dull work, and he soon ran aWay

which both sides displayed exemplary bravery
and determination. Those of us who have seen

to seek his fortune.

the Rajpoots of Centrallndia, than whom there

He was reduced to the

8"

.

THELEAGLE
THE

are no better horsemen in the world, may
realize the desperate nature of these wars.
On one occasionfa brigade of Scindia's 8.000
strong, under a

Frenchman, nu med

Duder-

naig, was charged by 10,000 Rhattore Rajpoots.
The mass of cavalry were seen approaching
in the distance, their gallop soon quickened
to racing speed. and on they came without
being even checked by the cannon of the
Mahratta Brigade, which ploughed lanes
through their ranks. The Rajpoot Cavalry
rode over the brigade like a torrent, and of the

8,000 only 200 escaped ! Skinner, though
wounded, was among those who escaped this

charge, and he was commended for his good
service that day. In spite of the successful
charge of the Rajpoot Cavalry, the battle was
in favour of the Mahraitas, and Skinnerap-

pears to

have carried out some

successful

looting on his own account after the ﬁght.
The state

of continual

war between the

native princes and the size of the mercenary
armies, they were forced to maintain, caused
so much universal distress throughout India
that the English felt it time to interfere, and
sent a force under Lord Lake against Scindia.
This was the turning point in Skinner’s
career. With the other English oﬂicers he refused to ﬁght against his own country men. He
left the service of the Mahratta chief and reported himself in the camp of Lord Lake. Lake
knew Skinner well by report, and was only
too anxious to encourage desertions from the
Mahrattas. He asked Skinner to take service
with the company and to raise a regiment of
Horse. Unwillingat ﬁrst, Skinner was induced
to accept the position on account of the number of men who had served under him in
Scindia's army deserting to the English in
order to serve under their old leader. His

new regiment from that time became known
as the “Yellow Boys,” so called from their
picturesque ochre-coloured tunics, and were
noted under their daring leader for

many a

dashing feat of arms. Their uniform was
identical to that now worn by the 1st D. C. O.

Lancers (Skinner‘s Horse) which was so much
admired at the Agra Durbar in 1907.
During the Mahratta war, Lord Lake kept
Skinner‘s Horse constantly employed, and during the retreat of Holkar, this regiment never
lost touch. For seven consecutive days they
slept in the open, without-any supplies beyond
what they could ﬁnd in the ﬁelds. Opposed to
superior forces, sometimes they had to change
their bivouac twice or thrice in the same
night to avoid surprise. For this work Skin~
ner received the highest praise from Lord
Lake, who presented

him

with a splendid

horse with gorgeous trappings. His fame
reached his old comrades at Gwalior,
Scindia’s capital, and many were'the deserters who rode to his standard.
The “Yellow Boys” had no rest, for they
were the eyes and ears of Lake’s scattered
When Ameer Khan, the wild
battalions.
Pindaree leader from Bhurtpore, brokeinto
Rohilcund with 30,000 Horse, spreading devastation throughout the country, it was
Skinner who played the leading part in ‘his
discomﬁture.

by forced marches. At the same time ten of
Skinner’s sowars set ﬁre to some corn stacks
and gave chase to some of Ameer Khan’s men
pillaging beyond the outposts. The alarm
was raised that the Englishmen were advanc-

ing, and the Ameer andhis host ﬂed in panic.
The pursuit by the Yellow Boys was resumed
and the result was decisive. The Ameer lost
his credit and his character, and had to retire
from Rohilcund with only 10,000 disheartened
men. Skinner stillkept on the tail of these
Pindarees, chasing them for 700 miles in the
same way as he had chased Holkar for 500
miles, and in his letters he makes the almost
incredible statement that, “ to the best of my
belief," they were never less than eighteen
hours a day in the saddle!

Changes in the GovernorGeneralship and
the death of Lord Lake produced changes in
Skinner’s prosperity. His regiment mas
disbanded, buthe was allowed to retain 300
as the civil guard of the Resident at Delhi.
Soon, however, the turbulence of the time
brought about more wars, and Skinner was
again in the ﬁeld. His 300 men at once ex»

The Pmdarees travelling light and living on
pand ed to 8,000, and from 1814 to 1825 Skinner

the country, were able to evade Lake’s troops,
but Skinner and his l,000 sabres, far ahead of
the main body, kept on the tail of Ameer
Khan. On one occasion, accompanied by a
few sowars, he donned the Hindoo dress and
boldly entered the enemy's camp, where he

learned all he wished about their plans.
On

another occasion,

hearing

that his

brother was surrounded in a village by overwhelming hostile numbers, he tried to induce

The
Lord Lake to march to the relief.
General sympathised, but declined to alter
his plans. The resourceful Skinner decid~

ed to act alone.

He wrote a letter to his

The trusted messenger allowed
brother.
himself to fall into the hands of Ameer Khan
The Ameer duly read the letter
as planned.
addressed to the younger Skinner, in which
the latter was told to drag out negotiations
for surrender as Lord Lake was advancing

was never without some command of Horse.
He served with Ochterlony in the campaign
which brought Ameer Khan to unconditional
surrender. He took part in the Goorkha war
in Nepaul, and was present with Lord Combermere at the siege and capture of Bhurt‘
pore. He was most susceptible regarding his
colour, and felt that his services were not
adequately rewarded, because he was a halfcas’te. The fact remains that he was reward
ed in some form by each successive GovernorGeneral, and in the end was immensely pleased
when he received the ribbon of the Bath.
Of all soldiers of fortune who served in

EAGLE

9

THROUGH NORTHERN ITALY IN A
MOTOR CAR.
By CAPT. HON’BLE A. HAMILTON RUSSELL,
To realize the charms of this beautiful
country, a visit should be made to it in the
spring of the year, and to intensify the enjoyment, a traveller should come straight
from the scorched plains of India.
Perhaps a brief description of the geography of Italy would not be out of place. Its
totallength is about 700 miles, stretching from
N.—W. to SE. with an area of 114,000 square
miles. It is divided up into sixteen districts,
which include the large islands of Sicily and
Sardinia.
To some extent Italy resembles India
geographically India is bounded on the north
by the huge range of the Himalaya mountains
with passes here and there leading into

Chinese 'l‘urkestan and into Tibet.

Italy is

bounded on the north by the snow-covered
alps, and has passes leading into Switzerland; but the requirements of European
civilization demand that better communications should exist between Italy, France
and Switzerland, and therefore railways
have been made, and tunnels have been bored
under the Mont Cenis, Mont St. Gothard
and Simplon passes. On the west coast of
the Indian Peninsular, there are the Ghats
mountains. Similarly placed in Italy are the
Apennine range of mountains, while the
fertile plains of Lombardy are the counterpart of the dusty plains of India.
in the north, the inhabitants are intelligent,

happy and pleasant, but in the south, the
traveller off the beaten track, without an
armed escort, runs great risks. High taxa-

India, few elicited from their native troops, by

tion has had the effect of turning the peasants
into brigands, who will rob, or carry off per-

whom he was known as “Sikunder Sahib,"
such whole-hearted support and self-sacriﬁce, which is the life and essence of good
cavalry. It was this power of inspiring his
troops that established the fame of Colonel
Skinner, the founder of Skinner’s Horse.

sons and hold them over for ransoms.
To proceed with our story : we left Bombay
on the 22nd March in Austrian Lloyd steamship “ Semiramis," and arrived at Trieste,
April 4th. After a certain amount of trouble

10

THE [EAGLE

with the customs house ofﬁcers, we managed
to get our 15-H. P. Orleans car disembarked,
and motored at once to Venice, about 110
miles distant.
'
The scenery is very ﬁne, with the deep blue
of the Adriatic on one side and the dazzling
white of the Carnic alps on the other, a pleas—
ant change after the featureless monotony
of sixteen days’ sea voyage. The vines were
in bud, and the crops of young corn made
a verdant carpet, only intensiﬁed by the

blackness of the tall cypresses and the pecu»
liar grey foliage of the olive. The fertile
aspect of this country of corn, wine and oil,
with its smiling, bright—eyed inhabitants, is

apt to make one forget that bread is very dear
and taxation heavy.
These Italians are ambitious people.

With a

kingdom founded less than a century ago,
they have a larger army than Great Britain

a growing navy, and colonial possessions.
We left the car at Maestre, about six miles
outside Venice, and spent ten days in the
city of marble palaces, canals and gondolas

The weather was

miserably cold and wet,

the only compensation to this disappointment.

being that we had more time to spend indoors
and admire the wealth of pictures, ceilings and
frescoes that Paul Veronese, Tintoretto and
Tiepots painted for the light-hearted, colour.
loving Venetians three centuries ago. It
was to this beautiful city that Napoleon,
during the last days of the eighteenth century,
brought an army to fulﬁl his promise to free
ltaly from the power of the Austrians
How he carried out his promise will be seen,

when we read that he made

Venice pay

From Venice we went to Padua, where
Danté lived. and Titian painted; then to Verona,

about ninety-ﬁve miles, which is celebrated for
its magniﬁcent amphitheatre built in the time
of Diocletian,lwliic11 is stillin wonderful repair,
and shows how the old Roman builders understood such work. Here also is shown the
tomb of Romeo’s Juliet. Verona is a garrison
town and the streets were full of soldiers.
The most serviceable-looking men are the
Vercelli, in green uniforms and small round
hats with drooping green cock plumes, like
those of the well-known Sakabula we remember in Natal.

was

here

After more than one thousand years

the-Emperor (Francis of Austria) by the very
general'who had promised to free Italy.

a

detachment

of

French

Napoleon had no quarrel with the state of
Venetia, he wished to start one, and to carry
out his purposes he suborned a vile wretch,
Salvatori by name, to issue a proclamation
purporting to come from the Venetian
authorities, which urged the people everywhere to rise and massacre the French. The
Doge (the rulers of Venetia were known as

DogeS) warned his people that it was a base
fabrication, but the mischief had been done.
On Easter-Monday (April 17th) achance affray
in Verona let loose the passions which had
been rising for months past, and many French
soldiers were massacred. Napoleon now had
an excuse for extinguishing

the

power of

Venetia which he must have hailed with a
secret satisfaction.

We left the carat Verona and went by train
to Florence, thinking the Apennines might
prove a little trying to its hill-climbing
Italian

nation.

that

soldiery were quartered in 1797, and though

powers.

of’ independence, that city was abandoned to

Vercelli, I understand.

King's Royal Riﬂes. Verona alsois brought to
our notice during the days of Napoleon. It

back to the Austrain Government.

in his “ Life of Napoleon,” says: “The bartering away of Venice awakened profound indig»

The

are the equivalent of our Riﬂe Brigade and

for furnishing three battleships, and enriched
the museums of Paris by twenty of her paintjugs and 800 manuscripts, and ﬁnally sold her

As Rose

THE

us,

After

Florence,

we

went

to

the

lakes where the car again joined
We spent three weeks in the neighbour-

hood of Lake Como, which is perhaps one of the

golf and mountaineering; also there are
said to be bear and Chamois on the mountain slopes for those who can get permission
to shoot. The evenings, too, are delightful:
and you can spear ﬁsh or glide about listening
to the songs of the boatmen, while Customs
House officers, in gloomy dark boats, creep up
and pass you, on the lookout for smugglers.
Doubtless, quantities of tobacco, petrol
and salt are smuggled into Italy, in spite of
the strictest precautions that the Government
may

take; and stories are told

of culverts

under the Swiss Frontier fence being used
to bring petroleum inlo Italy without paying
duty. At one time a school of small children
used to take their daily walk from Switzerland
into Italy and back again, until it occurred to
the Customs House ofﬁcer to stop and search
them, when it was found that each child was
smuggling in half a pound of tobacco.
We then went for a tour through Lombardy

stopping at Milan, Brescia, Lake Garde Bergamo, Cremona, Parma where Marie Louise
lived after the death of Napoleon, Modena,
In all these towns we
Bologna and Turin.
came across statues, beautiful buildings and
pictures showing the skill and taste of the
Italian artists and sculptors of the Middle
Ages which, thanks to the respect shown to
art by Napoleon, were not destroyed by his
troops when invading this part of Italy.
The car was running so well that we decided to drive over the Mont Cenis pass
instead of following the usual Course adopted
by molorists of putting the car in the train.

It ran extremely well, and considering there
were three passengers and luggage besides
the chauffeur, wasa good performance for a
The highest
small l5-H. P. Orleans car.
point of the pass is about 6,200 feet, and the
snow had only just melted off the road. The
run down on the French side was very
pleasant, but great care had to be taken to
prevent the car getting any way on, as the

most beautiful lakes in the world.

Thereis
turns were very sharp.

more to be done here than in most parts Of
We stopped for the night at Lansleburg as

Italy, and one can amuse oneself by rowing,

EAGLE

11

the French Customs House was closed, and we
were not allowed to go on to Modena that night.
From Modena we went to Aixles-Bains,
Bourg, (where Matthew Arnold wrote his
Church of Bron, inspired by the tombs of
Marguerite of Austria and Philibert le Beau)
thence on to Dijon where we left the car,
and so home by train, arrving in London on
the l5th June.

THE ORIGIN OF POLO.
“ P010 is perhaps
games.

the most

ancient

of

When history was still legend, we

ﬁnd polo ﬂourishing, All the best games, such
as Cricket, Golf, Hockey, and the national Irish
game of Hurling, are descendants of polo.
Asto the origin of polo, it was no doubt in
Persia, though the exact period during which
it flourished is not deﬁnitely known. It was
introduced probably in 600 B. 0., and was
known as ‘LLhaugan,’
From that country, it spread all over the
East and became the most favourite game
in India, and Constantinople, in the time
of

the Emperor Byzantine.

Itis very difﬁcult to

separate legend from history, as the oldest
histories are mostly legendary ; but we come

across one thing in them all w hich is beyond
dispute, that from the earliest days down to
the eighteenth century, there was always

polo at the Persian court

Every Persian

king either played the game himself or took
keen interest in closely watching the game at
times while his courtiers were at play,
There is not probably any ancient writing on
polo especially. Unly a few references, about
this game, are found scattered here and there,
in the works of poets and historians. It is
very interesting to note among them the Persian methods of play, the rules they observed,

as well as how the game either developed or
was
diversiﬁed, during
the successive
periods, in dilferent countries. In fact, polo
in Persia took the form of the national sport
and therefore naturally dilfered from that in

other countries.

12

THE

EAGLE

Q. THE
In poetical history or in historical poems,
for which the Persian literature is so famous,
the heroes are greatly praised for their skill
at this national game. The Persians were

well-known for their horsemanship.

Every

youth of rank in Persia was taught to ride

and to ride well.

It is strange that

the

Greeks and the Romans, who came into con
tact with the Persians very often, never tried
to introduce this game in their countries. It
might be most probably on account of inferiority of
horsemanship,
the want of
suitable ponies, and above all, the need of

stirrups which were not then in use in their
countries.

On the other hand, the Persians

had superior horses, because they could get
animals, active, light, well-bred, of the Arab

type and 14-2 in height. It is only likely,
that they being in possession of the natural
gift and also the acquired skill in horseman»

ship, encouraged this game which, as a matter

of fact, much improved not only the riding of
the Persians, but also greatly increased the

eﬁiciency of their cavalry.

It was the belief

of every Persian of the time, that there could
be no better school for obtaining a strong,

easy and
polo.

reliable seat than

the game of

This is, however, the general description of
the game. There have been no less than six
varieties of the game during its existence of

at least 2,000 years, the one diﬁ'ering considerablv from the other. The following two forms
will best serve to illustrate this difference :—

,3)

There was the Indian form known as
the ‘ Rol‘ which meant dribbling the
ball along the ground.
By means of
this tactical play, the player always

kept the possession of the ball, making dexterous turns and twists, with
a long stick.
('2)

There was the Byzantine form,

which

was something like Lacrosse on horseback.
In ancient and modern polo, one ﬁnds that

the horse, the ball and the instrument to hit

the ball, have remained ever unchanged, and
so have been constant factors, whereas, with
respect to the number of the players, the size

of the ground, the height of the pony, the
shape of the stick, and even the material of the
ball,—all these have undergone considerable
changes, from time to time, since the commencement of the game. When the game
made its way to the borders of Thibet, it
assumed the name of POLO derived from a
Thibetan word, which means willow root, and
of this material polo balls are made at
present.
All polo balls used in ancient times were
wooden. In the twelfth century, however,
the ball, used in Byzantine polo, was made of
leather. The horse used at the time was the
ordinary Arab of about 14-2, In some ancient

pictures we see two kinds of ponies :
(l) The big Arabs
l?)

The small,

active,

very probably hill

ponies used during the period.
The polo sticks have also differed very much.
At present, too, there is no standard as to the
length of the stick, or the shape of its head,
and every player may choose any kind that
suits his taste, just in the same way, in ancient days, there was also great difference
as regards the shape of the head and the

length of the stick

The earliest shape of the

head, of which anything can be known was,
that of the spoon, by means of which a player
carried the ball very easily, but the statement
that this kind of head was specially preferred,
is contradicted by the account given in the
SIM/La" ama which is clear enough to show, that
lofty strokes were more admired than mere
carrying the ball. It appears, also, that in the
earliest game there was no limit of the ground
nor were there any goals. A skilful play, with
stick and ball,

was alone admired.

In the

game, the players simply tried to outclass one
another, in fancy strokesysnch as hitting the
ball in the air and striking or volleying it while
ﬂying. The aim and object of the struggle was
all for the possessiOn .01”. the ball, and, the

EAGLE

13

players who exhibited most skill. in the use
of the stick and the management of the horses,
came out victorious.
The establishment
of the rules, the division of the players into
two equal sides, and the erection of the goals,
werelater developed. The more orderly game

players now, were also tried. The goal posts
were of stone only. These stone posts must
have been really dangerous, as even the wooden posts which were used before the present
paper posts caused many accidents
On the

soon

skilful, and practised horsemanship of the
Oriental type. 'l‘heir ponies were all of eastern
bred, and they were accustomed to stop and
wheel on their haunches, and were strongly
bitted. Besides no Oriental ever let his horse
out of hand, and so there was little fear of an
accident. The permanent goal posts were
twenty-four feet apart and the length of the
goal line was the same as that at present. In
ﬁrst class games only, four members played
on each side
No player was ever allowed to

made improvement in sticks,

the old

stick gave place to the hockey stick first, and
then the hammer-headed mallet, such as is
used now. In the earliest stage of the game,
aball or balls were flung down and many
young men had the good luck to display their
skill before the king and his court.
There were also many peculiar ways of
starting the game, and three were most
important :

(l)

The chief

man among

the

players

galloped down, carrying the ball,
until he reached the centre of the
ground and-threw it upin the air, and
then the play commenced
The ball was bowled by the chief player,
in much the same way as umpires
do now, between the players drawn
up in two ranks and then the game
began.

The ball was placed in the centre of
the ground, the players were drawn

upin two ranks, each on its res pective back line. Both the ranks started at once at the signal and raced for
the possession of the ball.
The first of these, being mest ancient, was
preferred always, and has, even up to now,
been retained in Manipur. The ground also
varied in size. The Persian polo ground
sometimes even doubled, in length, the ground
of the present day, but in breadth it never
went beyond 170 yards.

From this it can be

inferred that the polo must have been a very
fast galloping game in those days. The strokes
used were much the same as now. That
under the pony’s neck to the left front of the
player was the most favourite stroke with
almost all the players. Long shots at the
goal, which are often attempted by the best

other hand, the Persians were extraordinarily

stand ovar the ball, nor was he permitted to

slaciren speed before he ‘zit it
A game without a gallop was strongly deprecated
It

was also considered quite inferior play if a
player were found hanging about outs de the
actual game, for the chance of a gallop
In Persia, and also in India, it was thought
that the game of polo showed the character
of the player, and tested his temper, courage,
and dispOsition. The Emperor Akbar watched his young nobles at this game, and formed
his opinions as regards their ﬁtness for service. The Emperor was very fond of polo,
and it is clearly stated in Am, e-Alt'brmi that he
was the best player of his time. It will be
interesting to know that in

Persia ladies, too,

took an active ptrt in the game, and this
unmistakably bears out that the game then
had quite Complete hold on the life of the
nation
It may not be out of place here to sav a few
words about the Byzantine polo. The Emperor Manuel always spent his winter at this
game. The young men were divided into two
parties. The ball used at the time was as big
as an apple. It was placed in the middle of
the ground, and the players carried sticks of
moderate length with a round racquet at the
end. The side which, with theracquet,drove

14

T H E , E1AjG LE

the ball oftenest over the goal line, won the
game. The game was very dangerous and
falls were many, because the players had to
turn their ponies ina short circle to reach
the ball. One cannot say with certainty at
what particular period polo had developed

THE/EAGLE
day by day. A match was then arranged
between the above regiments, which resulted
in the victory of the former, by 3 goals t i 2,
The game, in England, was called ‘ Hockey on

Horseback’ at that time.”

from a mere exercise of horsemanship into a
scientiﬁc game.

It is, however, certain that

SOUTH AFRICAN LETTERS.

the polo of the tenth century wasa highly
SPEARMAN’S CAMP,

organized

game. In another old Persian
poem, probably written in the tenth century,
mention is made of the “ off-side " rules. of the
number of the players as four-a-side, and of a
back with well deﬁned duties. From this it
can be presumed that the other places might
have also been similar to those in the modern
game. There were combination and selﬁsh
play, too, but the latter was condemned.
In the sixteenth century, the game was
introduced into Central Asia, Thibet. and
lndia. The Emperor Akbar valued the game,

For the past week I have been merely a spec.
tator in this terrible game. On arriving here
I found a large camp practically deserted, the
Royals being represented only by a few dismounted staff men, amongst whom was the
armourer-sergeant appropriately engaged in
looking after the mail.
Shortly after my arrival, an orderly told me
I was wanted at the Provostltlarshal’s tent.

as it made riders and chargers quite handy.

and on proceeding thither, I found Vinberg»

The polo height was then from 14 to 15 hands.

a German-Jew who follows the regiment with
groceries, etc.,—sitting on the ground, under
an armed guard, with a "’ shot-atdaybreak "
expression on his face He told me that one of
our men had sold him a pony for ﬁve pounds,
and that on arriving in camp, the animal had

There were two forms of play : the dribbling
and the hardhitting, and both were recognis-

ed. The stick was hammer-headed, and the
ground was of the same size as at present

meg to political troubles the game died off.
in Persia and India. It lingered, however,
on the borders of Thibet, and in Manipur, in a
mugh and ready form, as described by Colonel
A. Durand. From Manipur it returned,
about ﬁfty years ago, to India again, and was
ﬁrst introduced among the Indigoplanters,
and afterwards in Calcutta, where the ﬁrst

29th January, 1900.

DEAR M.,

been recognised as belonging to Thorney
croft’s MI, and he was arrested for stealing.

Having identiﬁed him, and explained to the
P. M. that the horse was found straying, and
that there was no intention

to steal, Vinberg

off

was set at liberty.
Being unable to join the regiment, I spent
most of my time on the hill by the naval guns,
watching the operations. I hear the cavalry
turned the Boers’ right on the 18th, and
ambuscaded a party of 250 Boers at Acton
Homes. where the cavalry stayed until
shelled out by the Boer long-range guns.

Both were afterwards introduced. The game
then travelled to England in the year 1870.
The ﬁrst, game in England was played at
Shorncliﬁe by the 10th Hussars Another

to open ﬁre on the horse-shoe trench at 4 RM.
I accordingly took up position by the 4'7 guns.
A battery of naval 12-pounders was posted

regiment, which soon took it up, was the m,

lower down in front of the hill, and batteries

Polo Club was started by the late Colonel R.
Stewart.

The ﬁrst match in India was played

between theOalcutt-a Clu b and theBarrackpore
Club, on the Calcutta maidan in the year 1868.
The ponies used at the time, were only 12-2,
There was neither

hustling nor riding

.15

Lancers and the game grew ; more popular
of ﬁeld artillery and 'howitzers nearer Potgieter’s Drift, about 40 guns in all. At 4 RM.
the whole opened ﬁre; the air seemed full of
shrieking projectiles, and the Boer trench was
hidden by the white puffs of smoke from
bursting shrapnel, whilst at intervals red
ﬂashes and eruptions of black smoke and earth
showed where the lyddite shells fell. It seemed
impossible that anything could remain alive
in that trench. The firing continued for
twenty minutes.
Spion Kop, the mountain to our left front,
was occupied by our troops on the night of
the 28rd; the Royals picqueted all the native
kraals on line of advance, and ﬁghting went
on all day. On the 24th, whilst I was near

the naVal guns, the Oﬁicer Commanding
received orders to shell the enemy on Spion

Our staple food, the biscuit, is fairly hard and
about the size of a Spratt’s Patent dog cake : it
is quite palatable, and much superior to the
biscuit issued on board the “ Manchester
Port.”
“ Grub ” is scarcely a romantic theme, per-

haps, but a very practical one, especially on
service
On ordinary occasions when the
regiment is lying near Supply Depots, our
menu is as follows :—Breakfast—coffee sans
milk (with Tugela water the omission is no
noticeable), bacon, cheese or jam. Dinner—
fresh beef or mutton. cut in small pieces, and
cooked with compressed vegetables. Tea or
suppereranything we can get! When fresh
meat is notavailable we get “ bully ” (canned
beef) while as alast resource, each man carries

the guns said,“ My God i I hope I am not

two emergency rations, one of which will
maintain strength for thirty<six hours. They
are composed of one small tin of cocoa and
one of compressed beef, soldered together ;
these, as the name infers, are only to be used

shelling our own men ! ”

in extremity.

Kop. They ﬁrr d at 10,000 yards’ range;
some of the shells burst on the top, others
seemed to go over. The ofﬁcer in charge of

The position was evacuated on the morning
of the 25th. Heard that General Woodgate
was wounded, and that our casualties were

very heavy.

The whole army has re-crossed

the river and encamped here ; the ford over
which the cavalry crossed is V shaped, and the
slightest deviation meant man and horse going
down stream. About twenty good swimmers
stripped and entered the water, to preventany
one being carried away. I hear one of the 13th
I-lussars was drowned, and an ofﬁcer of the
same regiment, trying to save him, nearly lost

his life—the strong current carried him on to
a rock against which his head struck, rendering him insensible.
The ant-hills make splendid ﬁreplaces ; we
chop a hole down, the centre, another in the
side, put in a handful of wood, apply alight,

One day I heard that all our guns were going
and place the messtin on top—and there you
are! In standing camps the cooking is done
by regimental cooks, but on outpost, patrol
and, other detached duties, each man is his
own cook. At present we are living very well.

I generally carry a tin of cocoa, being easy
to make, and lasting. We ﬁnd tea, weak and
unsweetened, the best thing for thirst.

The regiment is in splendid health, and the
men leak in ﬁrst-class condition. Up to date
we have lost only one man by siCKness
We have a dog in the guard tent who
attached herself to the regiment at Pietermaritzburg, and

evidently

Royal Dragoon

considers herself a

We have named her “Scout.”
Yours, etc,
OL.~OL.

REGIMENTAL ATHLETIC SPORTS.
This meeting, the ﬁrst of its kind in the
regiment since 1899. was held on the 30th of
December last and the two following days, and
was largely attended, and very evidently
much appreciated. The cricket green provided the arena, . and the cinder track which
encircles it, and is just short of a mile round
had been worked up to perfection, leaving
:little to he‘desired for ﬂat racing. Monday

16

THE

EAGLE
T H E

was conﬁned to running oﬁ the Mile Flat and

the heats of some of the big-entry events.
On Tuesday the half-mile and the preliminary sprints were got through, leaving a big
programme for the ﬁnal day. Several of our
bandsmen having entered for the various
events, the band of the Durham Light Infantry kindly provided the music, and played
excellent selections during the afternoon.
Marquees had been erected on the ground,
and officers and sergeants were “at home.“
In most cases the events were keenly contested, and some of the performances were really excellent. It is safe to say that, in View of
the undoubted success of this restart, the
Athletic Meeting will become again the popularaffairit should be, and every one should

feel grateful to the com mittee for bringing this
about. We congratulate them on the excellence of the arrangements and the business—
like manner in which everything was carried
out. Mrs. de Lisle presented the prizes, The
following is the detail of the meeting :—
One Mile Flat—Fourteen started. The favourite,Cundy,quick1y took thelead and set the
pace, which told on the remainder after the
second lap, and left him to ﬁnish as he liked.
Time—5 mts. 7; secs. Corpl. Pittkin 2nd, and
Pte. Robson 3rd.
Half Mile—Out of a ﬁeld often, Corpl Stone
made the running, but the pace was too much
for him, and Candy, Pittkin, and Edwards
overhauled him and ﬁnished 1st, 2nd and

3rd, respectively.

Time—2 mts. 18% secs.

Throwing the Cricket Bad—Out of twentythree who threw in the preliminaries, six were
left in for the ﬁnal throw, and of these Pte.

Holmes proved best with 94 yds. 7 ins., second
being Pte. Sutton who ran him close with 93
yds. 2 ft., and third, Pte. Ashford whose best
distance was 91 yds. 6 ins.
Hurdles, 440 Yards over 8 Fliglds.— Quite a

large ﬁeld turned out for this, which was probably the most diﬁ‘icult race of the meeting.
Ashford fell at the ﬁrst jump, but continued
to try. Watson, jumping nicely, led, and won

Putting the Shot—Pm. Callaghan lst, 30 ft_
2!; ins. Pte. Hill End, 27 ft. 4 ins.
Half Mile Open—This event was open to the
garrison, and proved a line race, being won
by Pte. Tatham, Oxford Light Infy., in 2 mts_
18 secs., who beat Oundy in the sprint. Lee.Corpl. Stead, Durham Light Infy., was 8rd.
440 Yards —Pittkin ist, Oundy 2nd, Buckley 8rd. Winner’s time—58 secs.
Veteran’s Race—A handicap for service, one
yard start been given for every year of service
over 12 years. Bandmaster Holt was an

easy winner.

Corpl. Winter 2nd

Three-Leggedlince. -—This was rendered more

difﬁcult—and amusing—by the course being
over 6 ﬂights of hurdles (barrack-room forms).
Only a few survived the “jumps.” 1st, Pte.
Robson and Corpl. Parrott. 2nd, Bandsmen
Lovell and Boyne.

Obstacle [lace—Distance half a mile—ﬁfteen
differentobstacles.

Robson 1st, Ashford 2nd,

Meteer 3rd.
Dm‘lunnLIght Mfg. Band Race.

lst, Bands-

man Gritchley ; 2nd, Bandsman Mills.
In addition to the prizes for each event, a

silver-mounted Doulton Mug was presented
by Mr. C. Williams, of Lucknow, to the competitor who gained the highest number of
points in the ﬂat races. Corpl. Pittkin was
the winner with 10 points.
The ﬁnal for the 'lfug-of-war was not pulled
until the 4th, when “ B ” beat “ A” Squadron.

OLD COMRADES’ DINNER.
The above was held at the Holborn Restau.
rant on Saturday, November 28rd, Major
K. R. Balfour presiding, and I may preface
these few remarks about the evening by saying that from start to ﬁnish the whole thing
was an unqualiﬁed success.
As you are doubtless aware the scheme has

been suggested and talked about for some
time past, but nothing ever came of it, until
eventually Major Balfour took it up and determined to see it through. Saturday evening was the result of weeks,
I may 5.,y
months, of labour and organisation on his part,
and the obvious success of the evening must,
I am sure, have been very gratifying to him,
and it was only right and ﬁtting that he should
have been the ﬁrst chairman In arranging

EAGLE

17

three years ago ; the former having embarked
with the regiment, served right through the
campaign and returned home with the regiment.

Dinner was timed to begin at 7 P.M., but
long before that hour the hall was thronged
with men, and the delight with which old
friends welcomed one another, at once gave
one the idea that the evening was going to be
a success. and that the Reunion scheme
was both EXCcllelll} and popular. Punctually
at 7 RM. we started dinner, and a most ex.

cellent dinner it was. Parties of old friends
sat together and exchanged gossip and reminiscences. The ofﬁcers sat at the chairman’s table which was decorated with festoons of smilax intertwined with the regimental colours.
‘
After dinner the chairman proposed the
usual loyal toasts, and Miss Elsa Hope sang
“ God save the King," everyone joining in the
chorus.
'l‘nen followed an interval during which
Messrs Fradelle and Young took apboro.
graph by ﬂash light.
The cnairman then gave “Our Colonel-inOhief." Ho remarked that the Emperor‘s
interestin the regiment never ﬂagged and
was as great as ever—-he never omitted to
send his greetings on Waterloo Day, and on
the occasion of the officers’ annual dinner.
Earlier in the evening the following telegram had been despatched :——

all the details, he was ably helped by Captain
Parsons. Messrs. Finn, Bradshaw, Deninan,

'l‘o H

I

.VI. The German: EMPEROR.

Big/10W Castle.

Swan and others, but the idea in its presem
l'orm emanated from him,

and consequently

to him is the credit due.
lsend alist of those who
Many of

the names will be

“ ’l‘ .vo hundred Royal
ai

were

present

unfamiliar

to

those now serving, but there wns a Very
large sprinkling of old friends of the present generation, Of all the old comrades present, none were more heartily welcomed Ihan
Messrs. Miller-and Dunkley, both of Whom
served with the regiment- in the Crimei, ﬁfty

Oll Comiades’

Dragoons assembled

Uinner, lzlolborn Restau-

rant, to-night, humbly salute their Colonel-inChiel‘ and beg him to accept their loyal greetings."
'l‘he toast was drunk with great enthusiasm. and later in the evening a reply Was

received from the Emperor as follows :—
"' 1 thank you and all Royal Dragoons, assembled at dinner to-night, for your tele-

‘ "-'-’-~v~m,~,..

18

THE

EAGLE
THE

gram of loyal greetings, and join you in Wish

ing all success to my regiment.”
WiLLIAM R. & l,
Col. inc/def of the Royals.
The chairman then announced that he had
received a cable from the members of the

Sergeants’ Mess at Lucknow, which he proceeded to read out amid loud cheers.
Letters of regret for non-attendance were
read from several, amongst others, from Co].
Tomkinsou, and from Capt. Lee, a former
R. S. M., and subsequently Adjutant, who
wrote to say that his love for the regiment
was as great as ever, and he wished he could
have been present, but that as he was 87
years of age, he thought the chimney corner
was a more suitable place.

Colonel Morton then proposed “ The Regi.
ment.” He said that the. gathering that
evening took him back a good many years to
the day he joined. He was delighted to
hear such splendid accounts of the regiment from every one. He had heard that
Lord Kitchener had said that it was the bes t
regiment in India, and he (the speaker) said

that when he joined it was the best regiment
in the service, and so it was now.

In response to repeated and persistent
calls, Colonel Macleangot up and received a
tremendous ovation. He said that when he
accepted the invitation to dine that night, he
did so on the distinct understanding that he
would not have to make a speech, but on an
occasion like this he would have to break his
rule. He reminded a great many of those
present that they had heard his voice before,
on many occasions ! He then told his hearers
several amusing anecdotes connected with
his service in the regiment, which he said had

extended over a period of more than twentynine years. He concluded by saying that he
had always loved the regiment and would
continue to do so till he died. He was delight.
ed to see so many there that evening and he

wished he could shake every one by the
hand.

EAGLE

19

Major Makins, replying for the regiment,
said that although the regiment was some six
thousand miles away, he thought that an echo
of the enthusiastic cheers with which the toast
had been received, must have reached them.
He could assure every one there that the great
name of the regimenthad never stood higher;
that great name which all of them in turn
had inherited, had helped to preserve, and

had passed on. It was still the same old
regiment that they all knew. it did not
matter whether it was in the path of soldier-

ing or in the realms of sport, the regiment
excelled in both.

He recollected that just be-

fore he joined, an old general told him that he

considered, that not only were the Royals the
ﬁnest regiment in the service, but also they
were such a happy family : and looking back

and round him that evening he (the speaker)
felt the full truth of that remark. He concluded by giving the toast of “old Comrades ”
which was drunk with musical honours.

Colonel Mesham replying for the ofﬁcers,
said that he joined the regiment in 1860. He
emphasized the fact. that whenever
any one
j0ined he was taught to consider it the
best
regiment in the service, and to do
nothing

that would in any way injure its good ‘name.
He gave an example which came under
his
notice in 1868 when a man who had done
something derogatory to the customs of the

regiment was taken in hand by his comrades
and summarily punished, to show that every

individual had the honour of the regiment in
his own keeping.

Dir. Finn replyingfor the warrant and noncommissioned officers, traced the events
which led up to this evening’s meeting.
Mr. Jones, who joined in 1853, replied for
the Privates.
Captain Parsons proposed the toast of
officers past and present and subscribers to

the fund, to which Captain Hardwick replied.
Colonel Burn-Murdoch in proposing the
health of the chairman said, that every one

owed him a debt of gratitude for the very

pleasant evening which was the result of his
efforts. He urged all present to make it known
amongst their friends and so ensure a greater
gathering next year.
Major Balfour in reply said that the number
present was a great return for any time and
trouble expended. There were over 170 present that night, and he hoped that next year
there would be over 270 : it all depended on
those present. He paid a high tribute to Mr.
Finn, who had been his right hand man all
through, and he wished to take the opportunity

to thank the stewards also for their help.
On a show of hands it was decided to have
the dinner about the same time next year.
During the evening Mr. Miller sang two
songs. in spite of his years he still has an
excellent voice. His ﬁrst song, " The Boys of
the Old Brigade, ” was very well sung, and the
fact that he was present on that historic occasion and subsequently took part in the Heavy
Brigade charge, lent an additional, and i may

say pathetic interest.
The remainder of the evening was passed
in renewing old friendship and “swopping
yarns,” and it was past eleven o’clock before

the last “good-nights ” were said, and every
one went his way having thoroughly enjoyed

bimsel‘t'weacli of us having got something
pleasant to look back upon,

namely. the Old

Comrades’ dinner of 1907, and something
pleasant to look forward to, namely. the Old
Comrades’ Dinner of 1908.
The following were present :—
Colonels J. F. Burn-Murdoch, OB,

THE REGIMEH’EAL MILITARY
LIBRARY.
During the past year, many interesting
books have been added to this excellent institution, which was organised in 1906, witha
view to providingr all ranks with standard
works of a military nature.
In addition to

many professional works, useful to ofﬁcers
preparing for Staff College, or promotion examinations, the library contains a variety of

deeply-interesting

biographies—such

as

20

THE

EAGLE

THE EAGLE
Lord Roberts’ “FortyOne Years in India.”
Sir Evelyn Wood’s “From Midshipman to
Field-Marshal,” “The Life of Sir Hope Grant,"
by C ilonel Knollys, “Story of a. Soldier‘s
Life," by Lord VVolseley.
in these four inier~
esting volumes will be found graphic accounts of the lighting in and around lnicltnow
during the mutiny, and written as they are
by soldiers. cannot fail to attach g: eat importance and interest for soldiers. The two
latest additions to the library were present—
ed quite recently bythe author of "The Life

of Sir Hope Grant"and are entitled respectively, “ The Sepoy War” and
War."

“The China.

Inscribed in the author's handwritingr

in the front page of both are the

words "’ [‘o

the Regimental Library of

Royal

goons, from

the

Dra-

Sir Hope Grant‘s Old A.-D -C..

19075’

I

Colonel SirHenry Knollys is an old artillet‘y ofﬁcer, who served in many campaigns,
and is now Controller of the Household to His
Majesty the King of Norway.
His brother is

Lord Knollvs. the Private Secretary to the
King.

we should eventually return to claim
Lucknow.
,
.
, .
'lhe mutineers regarded the Kals
er Bagh
as their citadel, and to block our
approach to
this they constructed three lines
of defence
The ﬁrst line was along the canal
from the
river to the Oharbagh, and here they
built a
formidable rampart of earth, with basti
ous
all along the northern side, and utili
sed thé
canal asawet ditch. The second line ran
from the river nt the Moti Mahal roun
d the
Khursheid Munzil to the little Ima
m bara
opposite the Delhi Bank in the Hazratga
ni
The third line was along the front of the Kai.
ser Bagh, at right angles to the two
other
lines, 17.6., practically on the line of the
road
which runs from the Hazratganj to
the Resi-

denc gate.
Thus they were fully prepared to resis
t
attack, provided Sir Colin Campbell advanced
along the same route as he had used for the
relief of the Residency in the previous
November.
Needless to say he at once saw the
weak spot of the. defence. and profited by

their mistake.
l‘iiecll:ti'iii of his writing is well known to

all of us who have read his nook,
l‘he Life
of Sir Hope Grant," which was one of the
ﬁrst works purchased when the library was
started, and these

two other books

will

be

much appreciated by all ranks. the more so
by reason of the

presentation.

graceful

manner of their

We take this opportunity of

expressing our gratitude to the author and
donor, on behai of the numerous readers

who will so much enjoy the-nu

All

their

lines

the left bank of the river.
On March 2nd, 1858, the advance com menc
~

ed. On reaching Outram's camp the force left
the main road and struck off to Jellalab
ad F‘ort,
and from there marched to ljibiapur.
Advanced picquets were placed at Dilkusha
and
the Mahomed Bagh, and the camp was thrown
as far back as the nullahs would allow, nume-

ly,on the site 01" our present Regimental
Bazaar.

Breastworns were

thiown

the guns on the high ground
Dilkusha garden, also one close
Detention Barracks now stand,
at the north-west corner of the

LUCKNOVV’
BY
M AJOR G. F. STEELE.

of defence,

could be entiladed and taken in reverse fr 0 II]

up for

north of the
to where the
and another
present Ma-

On his march from the bridge to Ismaclganj

(where he camped the night) the enemy
appeared on his left ﬂank.

The cavalry at-

tacked and the enemy lied, hotly pursued by
the “Bays " and 9th Lancers, all acress the
the villages of Digdie‘a and chiriawan.
On the 9th March Outram advanced along
the road and attacked and captured the key of
the rebel position. the Uhukltur Kothi, which
Was the grand stand of the King of Oudh’s
race course, and stood somewhere on the
ground now occupied by the trans-Gumti
Cemetery.
As soon as Sir Colin saw from the roof of
Dilkusha Palace, that the Ghukkur Kothi was
in our hands, he sent Brigader Lugard’s
Brigade to capture the Martiniere, the enemy
retiring on his approach.
On ‘Ihe 10th we took Hank’s House (Government House) and from there we fought our
way step by” step along the Hazratganj
through the Begum Kothi (present Post
Office), and the small lmambara to the China
Bazaar and into the Kaiser Bagh. Desperate
ﬁghting took place in all these palaces, which
were a network of passages, small rooms,
and courtyards, and from

which the rebels

had frequently to be expelled by throwing in
lighted bags of gunpowder.
Through the
Kaiser Bngh we. forced them to retreat,
and On again until we once more took possession of the Residency, thence to the ruined
fort.

of the

.Vlachhi

Hhawan,

from there to

the Great lmambarn. and on into the .lnrnina
Musjid.
Here it was that whilst destroying some
powder, which had been found in one of the
outbouses, by throwing it down a. large well,
one tin exploded and igniting all the rest

bridge of

blew up two ofticers and forty men of the. Sap:

casks was made and thrown acress the river
close to the bend due north of Bibiapur

pers. lThey are buried in the Wilati Bagh.)
Outram‘s force had joined in at the Stone

House, about threeouarters of a mile down
stream from the Wilati Bagh, and Outram's
force crossed here on March 6th.

Bridge, and the pursuit continued right out

homed Bagh cricket

ing the Alum Bagh since the evacmtion ol"
the Residency, the rt-bels had not been idle
They had in fact been hard at work strengthening their defences, lmirwing full

well that

ground.

A

The ﬁnal stand was made by the Moulvie of
Fyzabad, in a fortiﬁed house in the middle of
the city. From this they were expelled on
March 2lst ; and so ended, after some twenty
days’ operations, the siege of Lucknow.

Apr. communications intended for publicat
ion in The Eagle
should he addressed to the Editor. and
should be accompanied by
the writer‘s name and address.
The Editor will not undertake to be responsi
ble for any rejected MS” nor to return any contribution
unless specially desired to
do so. Accepted llllili(‘i‘ will he paid for all.
the rate of Rs. 10 per

For six months. quarter page ,.
For one mouth, full page
For one In nth, linlf page

Sergt.-Instr. Hounsell
For one month. quarter page

tion as can be hoped to be reached in this ex«
traordinary country, Lucknow has lately been
the scene of much gaiety, in consequence of
Civil Service Cup week, which has just come
to a close.
This meeting is probably the
most important turf event of Upper India,
and attracts thousands of people annually to
Lucknow, From all accounts, and from observation, this year has seen a record number
of visitors, both civil and military; indeed,

Lucknow appears to have been “at home” to
half the European population of India! In
addition to the races, balls, dinners,ahorse-

Show, polo, football and boxing tournaments

No. 2

this year’s ball came up for discussion, it
occurred to some one that we should be
awkwardly placed were we ever to “lay
alongside ” the “ Connaughts ” or the “ Dub~
lins,” and it was decided to alter the date.
St. George’s Day, coming late in April, was
obviously out of the question, so having helped to relieve Ladysmith, that historical event
was ﬁxed upon; and for the future the “Relief
of Ladysmith ” Ball is to be the annual
festivity. Owing to other local engagements,
it is not possible to hold the present one on
the actual date of the relief; so the nearest

convenientdate is selected, whichis February
19th.

Already over ﬁve hundred invitations

have been issued, and the evening promises
to be a. successful one.

have followed each other in almost breathless

Roasted and Ground Daily.
A Luxury By Post.

succession, and as is usual after such things

ABSOLUTELY PURE
The very embodiment of all

we are experiencing now some difficulty in

“ The Ideal Beverage ”

be enjoyed before the hot weather sends

the goodness and the stimulating properties that are
associated with a Cup of

There is. however, one other social event to
many of us to seek the coolness of the hills, or
the changein England, namely, the Sergeants’
annual ball. Formerly this was kept up on
or about St. Patrick’s Day, and was called St.
Patrick’s Ball. Not being an Irish regiment,
it has frequently been asked why we did
honour to the patron saint of Ireland. The
regiment served many years in the green isle,

thereby enlistinganumber of Irish men—not
to mention Irish women—and

this

coupled

with the fact that the dancing season at home
ends about the middle of March, has been.
apparently, our only excuse. It has further
been rendered possible, as well as convenient,
by our not, of late years, having been quarter:

ed With an Irish unit

When the question of

The Race meetings have provided some
excellent sport and a higher class of horse
and better racing has rewarded the efforts
of the authorities, who have done their ut.
most to raise the standard of the races

in Lucknow.

Commencing with an open

Gymkhana Meeting on January 23rd, we
have had seven days” racing, including two
extra meetings, one before and one after
the Civil Service Week, and our Regimental
G. R’s. may look back with satisfaction on

their efforts.

In the Gymkhana meeting,

Mr, Tomkinson had two mounts, riding Mr.
Houstoun‘s Cossack to victory in the l;mile
Pony Plate and gaining second place in
another ﬁat race for Maiden Arabs over thesame distance
Mr. Charrington was twice
successful and twice unplaced out of four
mounts, whilst Mr. Sandbach was second on
Wallace in the Chargers’ Plate, and Mr. Miles

third on Cocos, in the same race. The former,
carrying top weight, also secured third place
on Double Keys in the Pony Hurdles.

‘24

THE

The second extra meeting took place on
January 30th. In the Pony Hurdles, Mr.
Sandbach's Double Keys ran second and in
the Horse Hurdles Mr. Miles‘ Senator, ridden
by his owner, was second
This meeting
was followed by the opening day of the
Spring Meeting, of which the twosteeple-

chases—the Closed Pony and the Military
Handicap—-were the features.
The Pony
Chase was won by Captain Grant‘s Perquisite,
ably ridden

by

Mr.

Charrington : and Mr.

Miles’ Daphne also ran, but was unplaced. In
the Horse Chase,Mr. Charrington was second
on Wales, and Mr. Tomkinson third on Lookout.
On Civil Service Cup Day, the second of the
meeting, Mr. Tomkinson had the mount on

EAGLE

T H E

Mr. Miles’ Dandelion took place, the former
giving awaya stone weight over three furlongs, owners up. It was won easily by Mr.
Miles, who soon took the lead and kept it until
the ﬁnish.
The figures for the seven days’ racing work
out as follows :—
Mounts.

Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.

Charrington
Tomkinson
Miles
Sandbach
Tidswell

.. ll
.. T
.. 10
.. 1
..

Mr. Irwin

Wins.

Placed.

‘

2

0
0

The Lucknow Horse Show was held on the
last day of the Civil Service Week, and owing

XVth Hussars and Riﬂe Brigade; and the
tournament all through has been an on
qualiﬁed success. The Rifle Brigade eventu-

ally proved

the

winners for the second

to the station being full of visitors and representatives of Polo teams competing in the
tournament, entries for the various classes
were good, and particularly so in those for
Polo ponies, in which some extremely high
class ponies were to be seen. The regiment

ferred to the

gained prizes in the English and Colonial

shown by our team, which,

Polo Pony Class, which was won by Major

lighted all spectators

with

another

victory on the same mount in the Open Pony
Chase on the third day, carrying top weight
on both occasions. 111 the Handicap Horse
Chase, Messrs. Charrington and Miles b‘oth
rode, but were unplaced. Mr. Cosens’ Unint—
bee followed upa victory in the previous week

In the recent All-India Boxing Tournament
held at Lucknow, the regiment was represent.

Grant‘s Charles third.

ed by Corporal Strath, who fought in the light—

, The third

extra meeting was of two days’

In the Light Weight

duration, but the racing was of rather a dis»
appointing description.
Though the races
had ﬁlled fairly well, owing to scratching
and horses going away, very small ﬁelds were
the rule, and rarely more than three or four
starters faced the gateﬂ The Handicap Chase
for horses provideda ﬁeld of four, and Mr,

Hunter Class, 2nd prize fell to Mr. Hudson’s
Dame Fortune, and Colonel de Lisle’s Firecracker and Mr. Cosens’ Tudor were 2nd and
3rd, respectively, in the Cavalry Charger
Class Mr. Hodgson was awarded second for
Funny in the Best Turnout Single Harness

Charrington on Refuge Bay ran into second

in the Heavy Weight Hunter Class.

place.

Class and Mr. Miles’ Cocos won second prize

The High Weight Arab Handicap fell

to Captain Grant’s Little Exile, which performance was pleasant evidence of the pony’s
return to form.

On the second day of this

meeting very small fields of two and three
starters turned out, and nothing occurred
worthy of mention. After the last race, a
match between Mr. Turner’s Stepma and

Another of. the attractions of the Civil Ser.

Vice Week has been the Polo Tournament for
3, Challenge Cup, presented by'the XVth Hussars, this being the second year in which it

has been comp eted for. Some very fine games
were witnessed, particularly

those

between

the Royals and the Riﬂe Brigade, and the

The Regimental Hounds still continue to
show good sport, though latterly there have
been some bad scouting days chieﬂy owing to
the absence of dew in the early mornings.
On this account one or two blank days have
been experienced, but to make up for these
disappointments there was one excellent
meet at the Pontoon Bridge some ten days
azro On this occasion hounds ran from the
vicinity of Chinhut to Jagaur station, but unfortunately failed to kill their jackal. It was
a good hunting run and practically a ﬁve—mile
point
There have been large ﬁelds out
dn-ing the past week, as many of those staying in Lucknow for the Civil Service Week
have put in an appearance.

On Friday, the 7th, a Polo Dinner was given
in the Mess to the competing teams. The
guests numbcredxl’orty-six, among whom were
the Lieutenant Governor, Sir John Hewitt,
KC. I. [9,, Lieutenant-General Sir Edward Locke
Elliot, K.C.B., D. S 0., and Brigadier-General
Sir Ronald Macdonald, KC. LE, C.B.
At the end of dinner Sir John Hewitt made
a speech congratulating the Lucknow Polo
Club on the success of the tournament, and

Hurdles.

weight competitions.
off his

usual form,

He seemed along way

by insufficient training.
brilliant

We publish in this issue some extracts from
the report of the Committee appointed to
enquire into the desirability of establishing a
Cottage Home. They were not- unanimously
agreed on the question as to whether this
would be the most suitable form of memorial.
We give, therefore, in addition, the report of
the minority, who disagreed, with their reasons and suggestions. It is hoped that all
ranks will carefully consider these reports,
so that a. deﬁnite decision may he arrived at
when all have had an opportunity of judging
impartially the respective merits of the two
schemes. Ata meeting of past and present
ofﬁcers, held in December, it was decided to

which is accounted for

Meeting Cowpe, of

the Middlesex in the early bouts,

"25

manded the Royals a few years ago, and the
father of Lieutenant Tomkinson.
The latter
having been selected to undergo the six
months’ course at the Cavalry School, Nether.
avon, which commences on March 2nd, left
for England with his father by the P. and
0. mail which sailed from Bombay on 8th
instant.

time, and they thoroughly deserved their
victory. There were six entries :—The Royal
Dragoons, XVth Hussars, Rifle Brigade, Durham Light Infantry, the West Riding Regiment, and the Lucknow Gymkhana.
An
account of the tournament appears in this
number.

Lady Viola and scored a good win in the Pony
This he followed

E A (1‘ L E

a not very

exhibition of boxing resulted in the

verdict being aWarded to Strath on points,
He fought better in the next stage against
Marks, also Middlesex regiment, but was himv
self beaten on points. The competitions on
the whole produced some good ﬁghting and
were greatly appreciated by the large audieuccsm

request the regiment to reconsider the whole
scheme; and that is how the. matter stands
at present

The following letter has been received from
Captain George Clements : “ I was very

~ .»._....s...‘mn....

26

THE

EAGLE
THE

much interested in the copies of The Eagle
which you so kindly sent me, and I wish to
become a subscriber.
*
“
"“
Should

show yet put on. The entertainmentis dealt
with in detail elsewhere in these pages.

you have a spare copy of the number which

A limited number of bound copies of
Volume Iof The Eagle Will be ready for sale in

contained the account of the services of my
dear old friend, Major John Lee, I should be
thankful to have it. With best wishes to
everybody in the dear old Royals."
By last mail we received from M ajor-Geiieral Graham an excellent little article, describing brieﬂy the services of Captain
Clements, as well as three other old Royals,
one of whom has already been introduced to

our

readers.

We are deeply indebted to

General Graham for his kindness, and would
appeal to those of our subscribers who are ilC‘
quainted with similar records to give the

Royals of the present and the immediate past,
the enjoyment of

reading of the doings of

those grand old soldiers who upheld the
honour and glory of the corps in the strenuous
times long since past. The article will be

a few days.

and bound ina smart cover bearing the regi—
mental crest in gold, and will be sold for
Rupees live, or six shillings and eight pence.
Those desirous of purchasing copies should
register their names early.

On the 27th of January last, the anniversary
of the birth of our Colonel-in-Chief, the German Emperor, the following cablegram was
despatched to His Majesty: “ All ranks,
Royal Dragoons, send their respectful greetings to their Colonel-in-Chief on the occasion
of the anniversary of his birthday." The
following reply was received: “I thank my
brave Royal Dragoons from my heart for their
loyal thoughts of me on my birthday.~

With feelings of profound regret we record

the death of two oldmembers of the regiment,
news of which has recently reached us.

Major-General Nixon, Inspector-General of
Cavalry in India, is to make his annual inspection of the regiment on the 17th, 18th,

On
and 19th, and we are consequently busy with

December Slst last, the death took place, at
the age of 64, of Captain M irk Maunsell. He
oined the Royals in 1868 and leftin 1877.
On January 1st, one of the older generation
of Royals passed away in the person of Mr.
Edward Pepys. He joined about the year

regimental drills.

ing hard for the regimental mounted sports,
which take place just prior to the inspection

and precede the Lucknow Divisional Assaultat-arms.

1852, served all through the Crimea with the
regiment, taking part in the Heavy Brigade

Charge, and left in 1857.

He was 73 at the

In addition to this all

squadrons are utilising spare time in practis-

The annual

competition for the

regimental best-man-at-arms is also in progress. Three out of the four tests—Horsemanship, Field Work. and Marksmanship

time of his death.
have already been completed, and the remain-

ing one, skill-at-arms, is to be run conjointly
The members of the regimental Dramatic

Club gave their second performance of the
seasonon Saturday, January 25th, before a
crowded and distinguished house. Assisted
by the regimental orchestra, under Bandmaster Holt, an excellent programme was got

through, itgbeing unquestionably the best

with the regimental sports. Full accounts of
both will be given in our next issue.

King Charles the Second, and of its subsequent services to the present time.
By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(Continued)
The Royal Regiment of Dragoons moved to
Tortosa about the beginning of December, a
very ancient town lying upon the river Ebro,
near the frontiers of the l«iingdom of Valencia, which had declared for King Charles.
The headquarters of the regiment there, according to St. Pierre, consisted “of about
two hundred men, very ill-mounted, the best
mounted men having been detached, under
Captain Jasen to Lerida ” ; and there had been
also a detachment left at Barcelona as a body-

guard to the Archduke Charles, who had assumed the title of King Charles III.
The relief of the town of St. Matthew, and
the subsequent pursuit of the army commanded by the Conde de las Torres, forms
one of the most remarkable episodes of the
war, and of Lord Peter borough’s marvellous
energy, intelligence, and activity, and was
commenced from Tortosa on» the 1st of January, 12706, when he marched with three regiments of Foot, making about 1,100 men: 170
of the Royal Dragoons mounted upon horses
“that could not have galloped a mile had it
been to conquer the kingdom of Spain ’1; 150
Spanish Dragoons newly ‘raised, and Without
musquets ; and was joined upon the road by
500 people of Vimaroz, With four pieces of cannon. Upon the approach of the Earl the enemy
retired, his rear—guard being pursued by the
Royal Dragoons over the mountains to Albocazar, Whence, continuing their retreatt it

was followed up by Lord Peierborough With
a force s0 inferior in numbers, that the record
of these events appears almost incredible,*

27

and exhibits the valour, enterprise, and tem-

erity of the English commander in strong
contrast with the pusillanimity and credulity
of the Spaniards.
Lieutenant-Colonel Cunningham of “ Cunningham’s ” Dragoons, having died ofa wound
on the 26th of January, 1706, Colonel Robert
Killigrew, of the Royal Regiment of Dragoons,
was appointed to succeed him in command of

that regiment.
The service of the Royal Dragoons at this

period partook rather of the nature of guerrilla warfare, and severely tested the discipline,
courage, and intelligence of the men. Divided into small parties, and associated with

bands of armed peasantry, they were continually making night searches among woods
and mountains; hovering about the rear and
ﬂanks of the. Spaniards, keeping them in

constant alarm, such services being performed in concert with spies; and although under

such circumstances it must have been difficult

to preserve subordination and discipline, yet
the regiment performed these duties to the
satisfaction of the commander-in-chief. A
vast tract of country was thus delivered from
the enemy; and not the least peculiar incident of the campaign was, that Peterborough,
being deﬁcient in cavalry, procured 800 Spanish horses, and constituted Lord Barrymore‘s regiment of Foot, now the 13th
“Prince Albert’s ” Light Infantry, a corps of

dragoons of which he appointed LieutenantColonel Edward Pearce colonel. The regiment was equipped with accoutrements which
had been ordered to be left at Vimaroz, and
as cavalry it did good service throughout the
subsequent campaign in Spain.
Lord Peterborough returned to Valencia.
on the 4th of February, 1706, where, amidst
universal and enthusiastic rejoicings, he re-

. “Standing King Charles has received no reinforce;

ceived a patent from the King constituting

mentyfihvzbb he landed in Catalonia, his liilf‘blﬁilrls- and the 51113111
hecn {:0 active that
‘ll‘IIU' under the Earl of Peterborout’h‘ thO and
i} ill hing“). be
progress looks altogether romantic.
Emit
believed by “()SIQI‘iLy, The): have not onl; maintained their ponest of the whole principality of Catalonia. but the) lune gained

him Viceroy of that kingdom.
The Archduke Charles had made his solemn

*.

We would draw the attention of advertisers
both at home and abroad to our Advertisement rates at the end of this number.

RECORD

'Of the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, containing an account of its formation in the reign of

The volume has been indexed,

WILLIAM.”

found in this number.

HISTORICAL

EAGLE

a; kiuirdmn of Valencia. and earned their arms as fair as Aliuant :
heme Same time they hlockadcd Roses, though the‘tiro RIII'CES

entry into Barcelona on the 28th of the

i-ereinmw four hundred miles one from the other. _1’€hell/l
state of Europe, January, 1706.

preceding October, where he had been again

93

THE'EAGLE
THE

proclaimed King of Spain ; but the unexpect-

Valencia, whence they expected to advance

ed surrender of that city, and the successes
in Valencia having roused the Duke of Anjou
and his grandfather Louis XIV. to renewed
exertions, an attempt was determined upon
for the recovery of Barcelona: and an army

with King Charles upon Madrid, where the
allied army, commanded by the Marquis das
Minus and the Earl of Galway, had arrived
towards the end of June. But irresolution,
delay, and obstinacy on the part of Charles,
the want of union among his generals, and
the. return into Spain of the French and
Spanish forces after the raising of the siege
of Barcelona uniting with the troops under
the Duke of llerwick, compelled the allies
to abandon the capital, and cause material
and unfortunate Changes in their operations.

of upwards of 20,000 men. under Marshal
Tesst'n. accompanied by Phillip in person,
entered Catalonia on the 8th of h’larch. 1706:
while about the same time a blockade was
established by sea by a squadron under the
Conte de Toulouse. In these circumstances
the Earl of Peterborougb with 500 horse, including the Royal Dragoons, and 2,000 foot
aided by a body of Miquelets. hastened from
Valencia, and with thi. force be carried on
an incessant guerrilla warfare, lteei‘ing the
French almost besieged within their own
lines, which they had taken up in the begin»
thing of April. on the 96th of which month
they took by assault the fort of Montjuick,
Lord Donegal, the commander. liaving been

killed on the 10th previous and the garrison
forced to retire into the city.
While, however, the French batter es open-

NELTHORPE,
SHLIL February, 1900.

were, sitting in a circle having breakfast, on

DEAR M.,
On the 5th instant we were up at 3 A.M.,
and moved along the river opposite Vaal
Krantz. a range of hills east of Spion Kop.
The Royal Engineers threw a bridge across
the Tugela in forty-live minutes under ﬁre,
and had ten men hill. Two battalions of infantry crossed, attacked and toox a hill in
front, whilst a feint attack was made towards

some low hills between tipion Kop and Vaal
Krantz, supported by three batteries of artillery. it was a sight that made the blood
tingle to watch the guns as they galloped

regiment of Germans, and on the 8th of
August they joined the army of Portugal at

into action, unliinbered on the open plain at
correct intervals, and opened fire : hardly had

Guadalaxarn. where on the 6th the Archduke
Charles and the Earl of Peterborough had

they done so before the ﬁrst Boer shell raised

the dust fifty yardsin rear.

preceded them with reinforcements, thence

ners soon

marching to Chinchon, a town of Toledo, sixteen miles from Madrid, where they remain-

dropped all round the batteries. in front,
behind, and between the guns, and it seemed
little short of miraculous how they missed

ed about a month

them.

The Boer gun-

picked up the range,

and shells

One shell fell so close that the gun

At Guadalnxara the Earl of Peterborough,
and men serving it were blotted from

our

no longer on the most conﬁdential or friendly

with reinforcements on board under Lieuten»
ant-General Stanhope, appeared vii" the port,

view in a cloud of dust.

breath

terms with the Archduke Charles, and disgusted with the jealousies and vexations he

when the French admiral im mediately raised
the blockade and put to sea—an example soon

We held our

found in the conduct of affairs, withdrew
from the army with which his services had

followed on shore by Marshal Tesse, who debeen

so brilliant and

so valuable, and

left

finitely raised the siege on the aﬂth of May

for an instant, fearing they were wiped out,
but cre the dust had gone, the red ﬂash from

the gun returning the compliment relieved
our suspense. The guns retired by batteries
at a trot under ﬁre with small loSs.

Spain for Italy.
and retreated towards Rousillon,

Our orders were to crOss the river by a

leaving he.

The
bind his artillery, ammunition, stores and
A squadron ‘of‘the
sick and wounded‘ men

Royal

Dragoons, with some other cavalry,

were. sentin pm'suit of the retiring French
and being joined by hundreds of armed peasantry they fell upon their rear-guard several‘ times and took a number of prisoners.

The Spaniards killed every man who fell into
their hands, but the prisoners made *by the

English’and Dutch were well treated.

allied

army,

unable

to

our left, the next seemed so close that I
bobbed and looked round to see where it fell,
and realized. as the hundredweight or so
of scrap iron threw up the earth half a
mile in rear, that my bob was somewhat late.
Fortunately the shells which fell amongst the
troops did not explode. A lucky shot from our
naval guns evidently blew up the Boer“ Long
Tom’s” ammunition. for after the resultant
explosion he did not trouble us again.
This sudden hail of shells gave rise to several
amusing incidents. On the order “mount”
being given, a certain non-commissioned
officer seeing one of his troop dismounted and
evidently looking for his horse, shouted out ;
“Now then, there! Get mounted! Some of

you fellOWs lose your heads when there‘s
a few shells flying about!”
The trooper
addressed. after staring at the non-commis.
sinned officer’s mount, walked up and said
quietly, “All right, Sergeant, I will, if you
will get off my horse!" Certainly, the two
horses were very much alike !
Breakfast being ready when the shelling
commenced. some of the men brought the
coffee with them, on moving off. A mounted
man with a three gallon camp kettle of boiling
coll‘eeis more dangerous than a Boer shell,
judging from the language of those who came
in contact with escaping quantities of the
liquid: both were decidedly hot
On the evening of the 7th instant we retired

make head

drift when the infantry were in possession of

to Spearmans and three days later to Spring-

against the superior numbers of the enemy,

the hills in front, but the one hill taken was

and being also in circumstances of much discouragement, broke up from their cantonments and commenced their retreat from
Guadalaxara on the 28th of August, when
the Royal Dragoons crossed the ’l‘agus at
Fuente Duennas, and continuing their march
through the fine champaign country of La

so commanded by others occupied by the
enemy that it was abandoned at night and
the troops (I believe they were the Durhams)

ﬁeld. We.
and after
away, we
My horse

retired after asevere pounding. We bit-Quack
ed where we were, on a narrow tongue of

and of course I followed suit, and crawled out
very Wet; I had a most uncomfortable ride

ground between the river and a steep hill,

before reaching camp that night. The greater
part of the army moved on to Colenso, leaving
us at Springﬁeld with the 13th Hussars, a.
battery of artillery and two battalions of
infantry, to hold Springﬁeld bridge.
On the 12th one of our squadrons going out

Mancha,

took up their winter

Valencia.

quarters at

jammed up with guns, baggage and trOops of
all arms. We saddled up next morning at
3 A,M., and just at daybreak a shell whistled

After the ﬂight of the enemy from before
over our heads and exploded in rear ; several

'BarcelOna the Royal Dragoons returned to

2'3

Bussars who were just behind us, another
plumped right intoa group of infantry who

SOUTH AFRICAN LETTERS.

In July, the Royal Dragoons left Valencia,
together with
“Penrce's” newlyvformed
Dragoons. a. regiment of Castillinn Foot and a

ed, and the general assault was daily expect»

ed to be made on the place, an English F‘leet

EAGLE

{To be. continued.)

more‘followed, one falling amongst the 14th

were rearguard on this march,
the troops and baggage had got,
went to water before moving Oh“.
literally took a header into a pool,

30

THE

EAGLE
THE

on outpost duty were leading their horses up
a steep bill, when they were ﬁred on bya

strong force of Boers.

Our men at once re-

turned the ﬁre, but several were hit with
the ﬁrst volley, and their horses stampeded

with others maddened by wounds.
horses were shot, amongst which

Eight
was the

trumpeter’s. The ofﬁcer commanding the
squadron took up the boy on his charger.
We had one ofﬁcer wounded, one trooper
killed, ﬁve wounded and eight taken prisoners.
Next morning our patrols found a wounded
man who had crawled on his hands and knees
a distance of seven miles.
After that we made reconnaissances towards Hongers Poort and Spearmans Hill.
We heard ﬁghting at Colenso, but saw no
Boers south of the river.
Marched to Chieveley on 21st instant and
to Hlangwane the following day, hivouacking
there; crossed the Tugela by pontoon and
bivouacked under Fort Wylie.
Recrossed
river following day,
and camped near
Colenso village ; heard that Cronje had been

captured with 8,000 Boers.
Up to the 27th we moved about a good bit
owing to Boers trying to cut the line ; had a
fearful wet night at Chieveley.
En route

there from Colenso we passed the spot where
the guns were lost; the bodies of the poor
gun-horses were still lying there with harness
on. Yesterday, “Majuba Day," 27th February,
we were back at Hlangwane, and witnessed
the infantry attack which culminated in a ﬁne

charge on Pieters Hill, the key of the Boer
position.

The infantry fully sustained their

The trenches bore ghastly evidence of the
effect of our shell ﬁre, and with the killed!

of both sides awaiting burial wrapped in their
blankets. brought before us the sad side of
active service.
The 13th Hussars were shelled this after.
noon from Umhulwana mountain between us.
and Ladysmith ; but we hear that Dundonald
has entered the town with his Colonials. so at
last Ladysmith is relieved I

Yours,
OL-OL.

POLO.
THEXVTH Hussaas’ CUP.

This tournament took place during the Civil
Service Cup week and brought together six
teams, including the Riﬂe Brigade, who were
successful last year. In the ﬁrst round the
Lucknow Gymkhana, for which Captain Lambert and Mr. Turner played, drew the Durham
Light Infantry ; and the lbthHussars the Riﬂe
Brigade. The Royal Dragoons and the West
Riding Regiment were byes, The Riﬂe Brigade
gained a rather unexpected victory over the
15th Hussars by 6 goals to 8 goals, and they

ground north of the river is very difﬁcult,
and quite impassable by cavalry, being simply
a succession of steep and rocky hills intersected with deep ravines. We crossed the
Tugela again this morning, just below the
falls which are rather pretty. The Boers

fantry ‘ beat the West Riding Regiment by 7

threw a few shells at the pontoon during our
passage : one struck the bank near my troop
when waiting to cross, close enough to
Smother us with dust and earth.
We crossed Pieters Bills this afternoon.

goals to 3 goals and the Royals meeting the
Riﬂe Brigade, were defeated by 5 goals to 4
goals after extra time had been played. This
latter was a magniﬁcent game and the display given by Colonel de Lisle will not quickly
be forgotten by those who were fortunate

enough to witness it.

Major Makins, owing

to an accident during a practice game in the
previous week, was unable to play, and his

place was well filled by Captain McNeile.

EAGLE
after.

SEMI—FINAL.
The Royal Dragoons vs. The Riﬂe Brigade.
lst chukkermThe Royals started by getting in two shots at the Riﬂes’ goal, but both
went wide. The Riﬂe Brigade then attacked

in turn, but the ball went behind. After play
had continued in mid-ﬁeld, Colonel de Lisle
got away and scored the ﬁrst gnal of the
match with a clean, straight shot.
Royals 1, Riﬂe Brigade 0.

Score :—

2nd Charleen—Play ruled fast up and down
the ground, and though the Riﬂe Brigade
attacked and got in a straightshot, a magniﬁcent save by Colonel de Lisle prevented any
alteration in the score. The chukker ended
with the teams in the same position.
3rd (Jhukicwn——At the commencement of the
chukker play continued in front of the Royals‘
goal, until pressure was relieved by a run up
the ground by Captain McNeile. The resulting shot unfortunately went wide. The Riﬂe
Brigade then got on to the ball and carrying
it down, scored their ﬁrst goal. Starting
again, they at once attacked, and after a save

by Colonel de Lisle hit a second goal. Score:—
Riﬂe Brigade 2 goals, Royals 1 goal.
4th Glimmer—During this chukker play
was conﬁned to the Riﬂe Brigade’s end and
the Royals put in three shots, all of Which

31

Then the Riﬂes attacked, and after a

struggle in front of goal, retaliated by hitting
the ball through, thus making the score
four all.

8th Chat/rice: .—Cffside was again given
against the Rifles and the Royals kept the ball
at their opponents‘ end, until nearly the end
of the chukker, when the Riﬂe Brigade made
a'determined attack, but the ball went behind.
Score z—F‘our goals all.
96h ()hulclcer.——’l‘he score beinglevel, an»
other chukker was necessary, and the goals
were widened, The Royals hit off from behind and carried the ball to their opponents’
end. Theyreturnedit,butitwasagain brought
down by the Royals. However, the Riﬂe Brigade then made a determined attack, but
their shot went behind near the goal-post.

They then attacked again, and after Colonel
de Lisle had twice saved, hit the deciding
goal. thus winning by 5 goals to 4 goals after
a splendid game.
.
For the Royals Colonel de Lisle was magmﬁcent, and was well supported by the remainder of the team. For the Riﬂe Brigade Tod
and Bassett were the best.

Umpirr-s :—Capt:iins Barrett andLearmouth.
Teams :—Riﬂe

Brigade —-Mr.

Rails’ton

1,

The Royals con.

Captain Bassett 2, Captain
Harrison 3, Mr. Tod back.
Royal Dragoons—Mr. Miles 1,
Captain McNeile 2, Mr. Tomkinson 3, Colonel de Lisle back.
The results of the semiﬁnals left in the
Riﬂe Brignde and the Durham Light Infantry
for the final, and the former had no difficulty

the
tinned on the olfensive up to the end of

in beating the Durhams, thus securing the

went wide

The

Riﬂe Brigade then

began

to work the ball back and were attacking when
it went out. No score.

5th. r.‘hukker.——The Royals started attacking,
and after one shot had gone wide, the hall was
worked up close to goal, from where it was
put through by Mr.

Miles.

Score :—~Royals
chukker.
Brigade 2 goals.

2

goals,

Riﬂe

6th Uhuk/cer.‘The Royals scored almost at
once; and then offside was given against the
Riﬂe Brigade. immediately afterwards they
.oot on the offensive and scored a goal. Score:—
.
Royals 3 goals, Riﬂe Brigade 3 goals.
7th

Ohuklcer —Offside

was

given against

soon
the Riﬂe Brigade and the Royals scored

Cup for the second year in succession.

THE ROYEEAGOONS'
MEMORIAL HOME SCHEME.
A committee was appointed at a meeting of

Past and Present Ofﬁcers of the Regiment on
June lbth. 1907, to report on the following

pomts, viz,

" the cost,

management, and

desirability of buying, leasing, or building a. _

32:

Ten-EAGLE

house for the purpose of Establishing a Mew.
morial Cottage Home. "
1. Thiscommittee has borne in mind that
it was the wish of the regiment that the Memorial should take the form of a Cottage
Howme Their report and 1ecom1nendations
are, therefore based on that fact.
2. Two offers of free sites fo1 the Home
have been received, but the committee have ,

come to the conclusion, that neither are suit- .
able. .After inspecting plans, buildings, &_c.,
the committee are of opinion that in #1112 event
of suﬂicient money being raised the freehold
known as Wycliffe House, opposite Hounslow
Barracks Station, be purchased. ’l‘hey estimate the cost of buying and furnishing as,

follows :—Purchase of freehold, £1,400 ; Fur<
nishing, £150 : Total £1,550. For the npkeep
rates, taxes, caretaker, light, 8110, a sum of
under £100 per annum would be required.
3, The committee understand that there

has been already subscribed or promised
£1,500 towards this scheme. They recommend the purchase of the above freehold,

provided a further sum of £1,500 can be
raised.
.4. The committee point out the following
advantages: ——

(a) The Home would beneﬁt some old soldier unable to ﬁnd employment by

_

giving him a. home.
((1) It would be aboon to old Royals and

especially Reservists on

arrival in

' England. who would get free lodging.
The Hon. Secretary of Managing
Committee would be in communica-

tion with employees of labour and V.
assist men in getting work.

(c) The Home would be a recruiting agency,
for Hounslow being a Cavalry recruiting depot, the care-taker might
secure many good recruits for the
regiment,

.0” The Home

might become a. privateg

depot for the regiment.
(e) 'l‘he.,actual memorial might

take the

form of an obelisk erected in front of
the house.
»
5. The committee would point out that
pecuniaiy assistance for dcse11ing cases
would still be obtainable from theTidswell
Charitable Fund
6. Shoulld this stheme prove unwmkable
owing to lack of funds. the committee suggest the institution of a RoyalDi-agoons“
Memorial Fund.
.
The committee were not unanimously
agreed '. and a minority report was submitted, of which the following are the chief
points :—
1. It does not appear likely that a sufg
ﬁcient sum of money could be .raised to make
the scheme workable.
£1,500 is already
subseribed or promised, but in the opinion of
most of those concerned at least £4,000 is
necessa1 y
2. Hounslow has been chosen as the local-

ity; but the regiment has but few associations there, and the argument about recruiting hardly seems applicable to a scheme of a .
Memorial character.
3. The “Home” scheme will only beneﬁt

THE

EAGLE

quite recently discharged, then'tbe Home
scheme is doubtless the better. But if it is
to beneﬁt all, Whether serving or discharged,
then surely a Memorial Fund Scheme is more
suitable.
8. What would be the value of this “Home"
scheme to a man broken down in health who
wished to enter a convalescent home to regain
his health? Or to a man who wished to
emigrate? Of what assistance would it be
to a widow who suddenly lost her breadwinner ‘9
9. lfa fund be started, it is suggested that
a suitable Memorial be erected in St, Paul’s
Cathedral, to be designed by the best archi' tect and well carried out. Permission has
been obtained f1om the Dean and Chapter
of St Paul‘s
10. A“Home” would requireagreat deal of
‘superviAsion by the Management Committee.
Will it not be a difﬁcult matter to obtain the
' necessary members for acommittee which
will make so many calls on their time ‘3
1!. In a few years’ time the men who
served in South Africa will have passed into
.Civilian employment Probably a fund from

a very few, and practically no married people

which they could obtain assistance

would be likely to avail themselves of the
accommodation for obvious reasons.

sary) would

4. The wants of such as would bel ikely
to make use of the Home are already provided

12. Should a fund be started, i1. would
seem desiiable that there should be an ofﬁce
in London as a cent1e fo1 ciganising and d15-

for in the Union Jack Club by three bed—
rooms belonging to the regiment.
5. Who is to decide who should and who
should not be admitted ? Would there be a

test to ascertain the character of the applicant ?
6. Considerable difﬁculty would be experienced in getting a suitable couple as caretakers—elected annually and replaceable.
Who would care to become caretaker, know-

inothat in a few months’ time he would be].
liable to be turned out for no faultof his,
own?

7. If the money subscribed is to .beneﬁt'
only, single men serving with the regiment 012.

be

(if neces

more useful than a Home at

Hounslow.

g"33

and Present Royals to conside-r‘v‘which’ of
these reports should be adopted. ' The voting

of those present and by proxies received
showed the following resultz—In fa'Vour of
the Majority {Home Scheme) Report :—9, of
which?) were only in favour on condition
‘ that a further sum of between £2,000 and
83i500 be raised.

In favour of the Minority Report :—-29.
Finally the following resolution was carried
by a laige majority, 1:22. ,— ‘ To request the
Regiment in India to again reconsider the
whole scheme and ascertain whether a fund,
to be called a Memorial Fund, would not best
serve the purpose of perpetuating the memo-

ry of those who lost their lives in South
Africa ”

CRIMEAN REMINISCENCES.’
To THE Enrrou.
DEAR SIR,

All who knew Captain John Lee, of the
Royal Dragoons, will have read with pleasure
the paragiaph in The Eagle by Colonel
Mesh-am, recalling his remarkable aptitude
for the duties of an Adjutant as well as his
populai 1ty with all ranks, and pe1haps it may
interest some of your readers if I introduce
to them 'hree of -‘ laptain Lee s Ciimean companions.

tiibuting

the

the regiment

fund

Those

would always

se1ving

1v1th

befully repre-

sented on the Management Committee, it
being generally understood that the funds are
available for all, whether ptst or present
Royal

Dragoons.

preference being given to

’ lliosewho served in South Africa. If the
existence of such a fund weie made known
to all whilst servmg, it is p10b Lble that many
cases of want and hardship could be relieved

Such were the main' points of the report
submitted by those who were not in favour of

the' Home Scheme ; and on December 20th,
1907, there was a General Meeting 11f Past

'
In the Cl imea during the winter of 1854a,

fournon-(ommissioned ofﬁcers occupied the
same tent,
namely, John Lee, George
Clements. George Cruse and Dicky Weaver ;
all of them subsequently received Her MajIn several‘ -instances
esty‘s commission.
during the campaign, regimental paymas.
ters went home, and the duties of their ofﬁce
develved upon the senior captain with the
two next ofﬁcers in rank, as a‘board. 1111
some casesthe accounts got int-0 confusion
conand the Board of Ofﬁcers had to pay

siderable sums out of their own money.

M

THE EAGLE
THE

Demands were made against the Royal Dragoons, but Paymaster-Sergeant Weaver had

THE S iRVANT QUESTION

kept his accounts so accurately, that the de~

by

mands had to be withdrawn, and Weaver was

"‘ BRIAN BORU "

gazetted a cornet in his regiment

He was

III. The Bhisti.

afterwards transferred to the 5th Lancers as

their Adjutant. George Cruse became Riding
Master in the Royal Dragoons.

I think both

these are dead, and the four are now repre—
sented by Captain John Lee, and George
Clements who lives at Norwich. and is Sec-

retary to the Norfolk Club.

He was always

asmart, handsome soldier and was selected
as Orderly Sergeant to Lord Lucan being

present with him at Alma, the 11i’tai1och
Kenzie’ 5 Farm, and the capture of the town
of Balaklava.
He is the only man in the Royal Dragoons
holding the clasp for Alma, and, together

he received the

with the other decorations,

long service Medal and the rew-ar d of £50 a
year for life, for long and meritorious service

He servedin the Royal Dragoons for nearly
thirtyfour years. becoming Quaite1 maste1
in 1870, and retiring on halfpay a3Captain in 1880.
During the

disastrous

gale of the

Hon

lbth

November, when nearly all the tents were
blown away, including the Commissariat
Stores, Captain Clements remembers the discomfort for 36 hours of remaining under the
remnant of a tent with half a pole for its support, without food or drink,

until

his thirst

was relieved by Gerry Adams (Sergeant.
Maj01 Lee's batman), who either begged. bor-

lowed or stole some green (otfee beans which
they managed
was always an

to

cook.

laptain Clements

excellent business man.

think I am right in saying that

I

Captain John

Lee was a ,sailor and enlisted at the'docks in
Liverpool when the regiment was embarking
,for Ireland. .
J. G. GRAHAM,
MOjO‘I" General.

NOW in lmia's sunny cliine.
\Vhere I used to spend my [llllt'
A-scrving of 'Er Majesty the Queen.
Of all them blaclefnceo crew
The ﬁnest man I knew

Was our regimental hhisti. Conga Din.
[fin Ii 11 .11.

Now I am sure that any person that has.
lived in india will agree that the bhisti, or
water carrier, is unquestionably the ﬁnest of

the crew of black-faced rut‘tians that forms
the nau/car-Ioa of our empire in the East.
Further, I feel almost eiually conﬁdent that

0r again, it is not unlikely K. was collecting
autographs, and had an idea that the Lieutenant-Governors, who know all these things,
would observe the mistake, and write to him
about it. Be it as it may, there can be no
doubt about the error. I will explain. .
In the ﬁrst place, the bhistz is a Mahommed-

an. No one, I believe, ever saw a bhisti who
was not. To support this I draw attention to
the fact that the Hindu religion forbids its
followers to touch the skin or hide of animals;
and everybody knows that the bhisti’s water
bag is nothing more or less than a goat-skin.
Secondly—and surely the last joined draftwallah, who takes, as a rule, two years to
master the intricacies of the language up to
“jao,” knows this——“ Gunga ” is another name

EAGLE

%

It may be necessary to explain that there are
two classes of Mahommedans—Sunnis and
Shiahs—of whom a Babu once told me: “They
are always ﬁghting, sir, , the same as the
Catholic peoples and the Church of England
peoples. sir." Brieﬂy the difference is that
while theSunni is astrict. devout, usually poor
Mahommedan, the Shiah—to again quote the
Babu:“Sir, he is not so much.” it need
hardly be said that the bhisti belongs to the

former class.
.
Although de tling particularly with the regimental 11mm, there is little or no difference
between him and h1s brother who works for
the civilian: the description, therefore, may
be taken tobe generally applicable
,
Like poets, bhislis are born, not made.

t- will be unanimously agreed that for all
round “ﬁneness" the aforesaid blush" compares favourably with, not only others of the
servant class, but also any class of native.
high or low, black, brown, or sickly yellow

for “Ganges, " the sacred river of the Hindus.

That is to say, the bhisti’s son almostinvari-

“ Din ” means “faith,”-l1ence we arrive at
“Faith of the Ganges.”
Now I ask any Anglolndian, Eurasian or
gunk/ta Indian, if it is likely that a self-respect-

ably adopts the profeSSion of his father. Indeed, Lhis is necessary, as a cook‘s son, for

throughout the length and breadth of the

ing Mahommedan like the bhisti would submit

Indian Peninsula.
So far then we merely echo Kipling. But—
and 1 make the statement fully conscious that
I am challenging a person whose knowledgeof all things Indian, and not a few AngloIndian, has astonished even Members Of
Council—---I submit that Rudyard is guilty of
an egregious error when he christens his bullish.

“Gunga Din.
Of course it is just possible that when w1it-

ing the ve1se he was stuck for a name, and
his bearer appearing at the time to complain
that the cook had appropriated a bottle of his
master‘s whiskey, and in consequence was

uproariouslv declaiming that the dinne1 could
wait tillthe morrow,and Vlr Kiplingalarmed,
and annoyed at losing his evening meal. lost
his head as well. and wrote in the cooksname
unthinkingly Or. it may be, the “ Bald of
Atkins”intendedthatthesoldier shouldappear
to be telling his story in the village hostelry.
and while keeping in the main to facts, was
drawing upon his imagination for the details.

to being saddled with a name that is purely
Hindu? Most certainly not.
From this. I
hope, it will be quite evident that Rudyard is
decidedly off the mark, although, let it be un-

derstood, I have no desire that it should
cause a-decrease in the sale of his books. You
see, lam quite sure he is wrong, because I
knew a bhisti once—«but that is another story,
Etymological research in the case of- the
word “Misti ” does not reveal, as many e1».
roneously suppose it does, a connection with

“water " or “ well." It is derived from the
word “ Bihisht " which means “Heaven” 01

“Paradise.”

It was, I Understand, and can

readily believe, applied to the bhi'stz' by reason
of his devoutly religious nature, and the
beneﬁt he confers upon humanity by his life.
long task of distributing the precious liquid

among the peoples of the earth. That he
deserves this title of “Heavenly One be
comes apparent to. any one who cares to in-

quire into his mode of living, ,
As previously stated, he is a Mahommedan.

instance, mty not become a b/Listi, and were

the heavenly one‘s heir to develope an early
preference for something stronger than aqua
para, it would in time become mighty unpleasant t'or the people of this country, to Whom
water, in various forms certainly, but never.

theless water, is the prime necessity.
Let me introduce ,to you Maul-a. Buksh.
He is old, probably titty, his grey beard,
slow, meditating walk, and grave mien, give
him a venerable appearance. His dress consists of the usual simple dhoti and turban,
but he has-in addition a long red cloth which
he wears round his loins whilst at work, and
takes olf when ﬁnished. This is the sign Of
his order, and go where you will, you will ﬁnd
the bhisti with this loiu»cloth of red. Sus
pended from his shoulder by a. strap is a 011»
riouslooking leather bag, called a mussel/c,

It

is simply the haiiless hideof a goat, sewn together, and it retains much of the. shape it
had when it did :duty as a garment for a liv-

ing, butting, ‘jnmping bakri. Watch him as
he tills his mussak at well or standpipe. The
apertule. which, by the way. is where the
head was severed from the neck. is secured

‘%

~

THE

‘by means of a piece of string,and the weird,
wobbly thing, glittering with the moisture
that oozes through its pores. and appearing

like some prehistoric, amphibious monster,
is slung over his

shoulder,

and with bent

'form and slightly tottering steps (the
”weight approaches l50 tbs) he proceeds to
carry out his duties, which consist of ﬁlling
baths, washing down verandahs, watering
‘gardens and roads, and, at times, accompany»
ing troops on the march to keep them sup—
plied with drinking water.
B‘or'each of these duties, he has a different
method of disgorging the contents of his
.mussak. Removing the string, he clutches
the monster by the throat with one hand,
and by relaxing the grasp of one or more
ﬁngers, controls the volume with marvellous

exactitude, obtaining force by squeeaing the
bag between elbow and ribs in a manner sug-

gestive of the Scotch man playing his bagpipe.
In the garden he is probably seen at his best,
when by usingr his disengaged hand as a

spreader, he revolves on his heels, and becomes a veritable spray fountain. The other
servants, hawkers going their rounds, ekkadrivers, and wayfarers of whatever caste or
breed, stop him a hundred times during the
day, and sans ('eremon/e, squat down with
their hands joined cup-like together, under
the welcome spout, and gulp down the cooling
liquid. Maula Buksh, in his character of
public benefactor, witholds from none.
As a servant he is incomparable. -.thile
the bearer is put under stoppages of pay for

EAGLE

IS an exception who can. writ
e his own name,

yet he knows by heart many pass
ages from
the great book, the Koran, and
the stringent
rules contained therein for the
guidance of
the true Mohammedan, he carri
es out with
the utmost regard
Prayers ﬁve times a
day, fasting, almsgiving. Rising
at dawn he
commences the day by prayer. Thre
e times
during the day he lays aside
his mus-sale, and

retiring to some more or leSs secl
uded spot,
turns towards Meccr in the West
and murmurs his simple and beautiful suppl
ications
with many genuﬂections and prost
rations.
Again, when his daily task is done
, and the

voice of the Muezzin is heard calling to pray»
er, and the long-drawn—out “Allah Akbar!
Allah Akbar!” (God is Great) reaches him
in his little mud but, he wends his way to the
tiny mosque in the bazar, and assu
mes a
reverent attitude behind the Haﬁz, whil
e the
latter reminds his brethren that there is but
one God, and Mahomet is His Prophet.
And with regard to marriage; what, I won
der, would the average Westerner say
to

being married off willy nilly to a lady he has
never seen!
The bhistr. ,may marry none
but a bhisti’s daughter, and although, as
we understand these things, he is the per-

back a buttonless, tattered, war scarred-ban

Her-looking article in place of the new shirt
entrusted to him to wash, the bhim: gives
no trouble, and the man who would strike or
ﬁne Maula Buksh would deserve to perish of
thirst in a desert.

ough of him, as he is, to realise that he IS
the nearest approach to perfection imagina-

ble.
.
.
__
What would we in India do Without him f
“ Flo ! Maula Buksh, pani lao! ” and the perspiring,beetroot-lined, prickly-heat»maddened
Tommy dashes from the verandah into the
bath-house, where, in pmv‘s naturabll s, he
Note the
awaits the coming of the deliverer.

light of joyous anticipation which appearsm his
eyes,_as hehears the familiar squelch, squelch.
and sees the well-known, podgy, four-right.
angled shadow fall across the doorway : and
as he sits on the stone floor, and receives the

cool, delicious jet full on his spine, the world)
becomes a pleasant place to live in. “ Not ’alf
What joy, as the water
a bad country! ”

the World) at the wedding ceremony!

uncommnnicative in general, he is, in

this

unable to discover who was the ﬁrst bhz‘sti; no

one appears to KUOW ‘the origin of the order.
Even an educated Mahommedan whom I
questioned on the subject of the history or
the bhisli, could tell me nothing, and account-

ed for the fact by saying: “ As these people
are very poor, sir, no one put it down, so
thereis nohistory for them." Such is life!

improvements were noticeable, both in the
matter of staging and acting, while the new
box scene which came as a surprise to most;
of the audience, was much admired as a

smartly executed and enlivening setting.
The house was a record one, and included
Sir John and Lady Hewitt, Sir Edward and
Lady Locke Elliot, with alarge party from
Fjad's'taﬂ: House, Colonel and Mrs. de Lisle,
Majcor and

Mrs.

Makins,

Major

and

Mrs,

maddening irritation of his skin gives place to
a feeling of perfect ecstasy! He turns his

the Hon’ble and Mrs. Hamilton Russell, and
most of the bachelor ofﬁcers of the regiment,
besides many other officers and ladies of the
garrison
The first part, opening with a tuneful selec-

body this way and that. What rapture !. What
unutterable bliss! Oh! he simply must Sing:—
“ A life on the ocean wave.
A life on the#

’lg‘ner up beestie, ole boy.
like it—
.

Ah! that’s more

A sailor‘s li—ifc for~

.

I have been

The performance given by the A D. C.
on Saturday, January 25th, gave abundant
proof of the careful preparation that must
have been made to produce such excellent
results. and shows that in spite of the club
losing [several ﬁne performers, there still
is talent in the regiment. Indeed, many

Steele.

Nowatora on me ’ead Don’t be afraid of it—-

small, demure, wide-eyed Nur Jehan (Light of

REGIMENTAL AMATEUR DRAMATIC
CLUB.

crushes over his body, and the abominable,

Tat-rum. Til-rum. Ta—rahA

resppct, extremely reticent.

heels; while the dhobi is. ﬁned for bringing

we know en-

youthful bhisti obtains his first glimpse of the

making away with the sahib's gold collar

cracked

came from,

son most concerned, the affair is arranged

stud, which he professes he has not seen, but
thoughtfully suggests the dog as a possible
delinquent; while the syce is cuffed for failing
mean

Still history or no. whatever he was originally
anddwherever' he

entirely by the respective parentsyand the

It is not possible to write much of the
bhistz’s domestic life, as quiet, digniﬁed, and

to remember that wet heels

37.

THE'EAGLE
He has noeducation to speak of ,“
indeed, he

What l_” he shrieks, as the generous ﬂow
suddenly ceases. “Empty ! Why, you couldn’t
’ave ’ad anything in it. Here, jow—ore pawnee
mongta—bring some more——Jildee ! ” And as
the old man turns obediently and goes out,
the habitual digniﬁed expression giving way,
to a smile as of an indulgent father towards a
fractious child, .small wonder that Thomas
thinks,as I think, as Kipling’s soldier thought,

as you must think if'you know him, that “ of
all them black—faced'crew ’-' the ﬁnest is the
regimental Misti. .,
.» l: .

Major and Mrs. Evelyn Wood, Captain

tion by the

orchestra, consisted of variety

turns, all Of which were excellent and much
appreciated, the most noteworthy being per.
haps Fitch and Paton‘s humorous ScotchCockney duet, M urkett and Dewar’s Cakewalk,
and Paton’s “Nellie McKie.”
Of the many playlets or sketches which
have been put on in Lucknowby Your regi.

mental company, none have equalled “ Mad as
a Hatter, " the really ﬁne farce which formed
the second part of the programme
Smartly
written, and possessing a quite perceptible
and possible plot, it was a long way ahead of
the class of sketch which has hitherto been

attempted, most of them being characterised
by an over-abundance of tumbling and a
total absence of anything in the way of
motive
And if the sketch itself was an

improvement. so much more so was-the
manner in which it was performed. All the
parts were well sustained, and the little play

considerable enjoyment to the large house.
As the eccentric Fuzzleton, with his half

nervous, half dominant manner. Corporal
Fitch was splendid, and his extraordinary
hypnotic passes in the scenes with Charles
caused much merriment. Private Carver’s
Fanny was a charming creature, and he has
established himself as the best "lady" we

FANNY FUZZLETON ..

..

have produced.

MARIA JANE

..

Price instilled a great amount

of life into his part of

“

CARVER.
Honiis.

Bob, and although

somewhat extravagant, was very amusing, and
.
should. with more
> e maize-a smart
experienc
comedian

..

Maria, ll domestic Of the

Musical Hiram,
‘
Pianist

i. Sairey

BANDMAS'I‘ER E. R. 801,1“
Conroxaii NELSON
PRIVATE GREVILLE.

Mime Manny/er

Ann ” order, was very well done, and Bob 5

—

is
to be congratulated on his
maiden
effort.
K
.
I

"GODSAVETHE Kma-Empmam."

A

of the Duiihams. Certainly on resuming, the
Royals showed to better advantage, and got
going several times, only however, to be

beaten each time by the opposing backs The
Durhams made no addition to their score and
the game finished 1—0, but on the play they
were out and out the best team.
The Inter-Squadron Tournament, for the
Quadt Cup is well advanced, but progress
has been delayed by the present stress of
work, A week hence, however, should see
a resumption, when it is hoped the remaining
games will be got through to allow of the
HockeySh‘ield Tournament being proceeded
with.
The
positions of the teams in the Quadt
.,
.
_

and from two beautifully-Judged corner [{1ka
.
‘
a
by
the formei,. the last two pomts
were added.
The Tournament
game
as
a.Whole
was not
.
.

j

.'
Lce.-COTD1.‘V(‘.1L‘IL L' Houstoun.

it B H SQUADRON L'.\‘. ” A ” SQUADWON.

feature, too, that has formerly been as notice
.

p

b:i'§;¥;lson,c£osens.

_

thusiastic cricketers Later came a falling off,
but it had established a hold, and of late 93011
:
takenthe
advantage
to ut
holiday
has _b€ e11 W'th
mint of“0911:“
the stump-“111'
1
p ’3
’ “ '
,
x- tier
l e oucht
to be an y number of
5
weathei
‘
matches. The recent games are as follows :—

was the ﬁrst-rate combination of our side, a
Nellie.

Winter,

Dent R- Housman. b

l’l-e. Arnold. not out

ing harder to bear.
, In the ﬁrst game the most noticeable feature

i:

"

an in. l. Colii

sou. b Sewn

thlb 33m?

promised to become the game of the regr

-

_

Inﬁll

ment and there was fOI‘ some time hardly

-y
00 the
same ground, under Similar conditions.
when
after a really excellent game, and a splendid
k' ‘ ‘
.
.
BXulbltIOIl
by our men, the Duihams
Weie
defeated by three oroals to one. The D L I
I
‘
D
- ' i '

Colonel de Lisle to the best man at-arms.
This is the second year of presentation and
a keen, closely-contested competition resulted. In addition to the sword, the winner
receives a gold medal which he may wear
with the regimental ribbon on his right
breast. Silver and bronze medals go to the
2nd and 3rd man, respectively. An account
of the competition will be found in this numregimental mounted sports.
On Monday, March 2nd, a regimental ﬁeld
ﬁring scheme was carried out in the country
round Kokrail, just outside Lucknow, with
very good results. Opening ﬁre at 1,100 yards
and working over very rough country, all

regiment 0n Qist.

The reports of the Brigade and Divisional
Commanders have already been received,
and as these must prove of great interest to
our readers, we publish them herein. Old
Royals especially will be gratified to see that
those now serving are endeavouring to maintain the high character and standard of

During the past two years much has been
encourage

individual

skill-at-arms,

and the result of this has been seen just lately
during the regimental and divisional annu.

For one month. full page

al assaults.

“
For on'o month. quarlcr page

to

For one month. huli page

_

i

For six months. quarter page ..

m

done to

.1

For six months. half page

sounded at 500 yards.

The number of rounds

expended was 8,828, and worked out at 2 per

cent of hits to rounds ﬁred, an increase on

last year’s results of nearly one per cent.
The result of the Annual Musketry Course,
is also worthy of note. the ﬁgure-of-merit
working out at 202, or an average of only 18
points short of marksmen

efficiency handed down by Royal Dragoons of
many generations. We have been permitted
to publish also a. copy of the annual l'eport
from the Commanding Officer to H. I. M.,
our Colonel-in-Chief, which must likewise be
of interest.

targets were down when the “ cease ﬁre"
ALI. communications intend
ed for publication in The Eur/[r
slionld‘bc nddresscd to the Editor
. and should be accompanied by
the writer 5 name und address.
I
The Editor will not undertake to be respon
sible {or any reject.
cd’MS” nor to return any contribution unless
specially desired to

The ﬁrst Annual Ladysmith Ball, which we
drew attention to last- month, came off on 19111
February, and, as was anticipated, proved
very successful
A detailed account is given
in this number.
Another event was the third performance
of the season by the regimental dramatic
club. Being asked to repeat the very excellent farce " Mad as a Hatter,” this, with a.
complete change of variety turns, was put on

by the club in the regimental theatre on the

w

7

THE EAGLE
THE.EAeLE

27th ultimo. The most noteworthy of the fresh
items were Lieutenant lrwin's two songs,
“Ottoof Roses” and “ Waltz me round again,
Willie," anda very amusing quartette, “Baby
on the Shore,” by S. Q. M S. Cronin, Corporals Fisher and Fitch, and Pte. Hobbs.
The Pioneer of March 4th, contains the
following interesting, if somewhat mislead-

ing, paragraph :—

.

“An interesting experiment which has
hitherto escaped the notice it perhaps deserves, has for some time been carried out in
Lucknow, in connection with the training of

the mounted police.

The Royals, who are

at present stationed at Lucknow, boast possession of a certain number of cowboys,
among whose many accomplishments is the
art of throwing the lasso. ' he bright idea
seems to have occurred to some police ofﬁcer

watching their performances that this particular accomplishment might be

of

claim any connection with
the American
cattlemen, having, it is unde
rstood, lived in

Mexico for some years.

The greeting card from Lady
smith, which
we reproduce below, a copy
of which has been

sent presumably to all units who
took part in
either the siege or the relief,
reached us re-

Royals’colouel, an instructor was arranged
for and the mounted police put through a
regular course
of lassorthrowing.
The
sowars, it appears, have shown themselves apt
pupils, and many, if not mOStof them, can
now throw the lasso with precision. Of
course in a riot or in the carrying out of any
of the ordinary police duties in a town, the
lasso might prove more of a hindrance than

ahelp to the mounted

man

occasions as, say, a dacoit or

But on such
criminal

tribe

‘drive,’ the lasso would certainly have its
adv:;ntage as an instrument of capture."
As most of our readers are aware the
“cowboys” exist only on the regimental
circus programmes. Lasso-throwing formed part of a special equitation training

the

circus

performances.

Avenue.
Shall time erase or distance dim
The memories of the past ?

To The lst ROYAL DRAGOONS.
JOSEPH MILLER,
Fell/wary 391/2, 1.908.

h:;,w

Pres-ideal.

Wu—js:_n

Private

Munroe, whois very expert at this useful
accomplishment, is the only one who can

little unfortunate, perhaps, that R. S. M
Plumb gets his ﬁrst taste of Indian life at the
beginning of the hot weather, although, onothe

at Lucknow. Again. unfortunately our team
had to acknowledge defeat, although this

other hand, he will have better opportunities,

ments were provided for the, guests, andv‘a
very pleasant day was spent.

owing to the little work done at this season
of the year,,of becoming acquainted With his
new duties, We extend him a hearty welcome.

Since we left home, we have had no really
useful or ornamental animal for this purpOse,
and it will seem like old times to have a ﬁne
drum horse at the head of the regiment,

sive heat of the summer,

exceeded four shillings, only two shillings
and Sixpence was charged, thus enabling
many men of limited means to attend We
.would suggest subscription lists being put
up in the Ofﬁcers‘, Serge.tnts’ and Corporals
Messes, and probably other members of the
regiment would like to subscribe. It is as
well to realise that, sooner orlater, we all shall
have an opportunity of attending this ex.
,
cellent function.

much useful work impossible, as many as can

of twelve members of

the Sergeants‘ Mess

were the guests of the West Riding Regi-

six or seven months of their stay, , and they
are very fortunate in escaping the many disCOmflil‘hS of the summer on’ the plains...

This month sees the beginning (it the leaVe
season, when taking advantage cf the exces-

which renders

get away, of all ranks, proceed tothe various

hill stations, shooting districts, . and, in the
case of officers, to England.
.
Already Major and Mrs Evelyn, Wood,
Captain Lord Charles Fitzmaurice. and Lieu~
tenant Cosens have left for home.
Lord Charles is going up for the Entrance
examination for the Cam berley Staff College,
which is to be held in London during August.
next
We wish him success.
Major and M rs Steele intend leaving about
three months“ leave

to England. Captain McNeile proceeds home
also at the end of the present month for seven
months.

ment at Sitapur, a small garrison station some

A shooting match

Owing to the heavy work contingent on the

was the object of the visit, and our team were

annual inspection, no great amount of sport
has been indulged in by the various teams of
the regiment. The only events recorded are
two hockey matches played between “ D"
Squadron and 79th Battery, R. F. A., on the
27th ultimo and l2th instant, respectively,

ﬁfty miles from Lucknow.

The guests

were en-

tertained right, royally, and speak highly 0f
the hosoitality of the West Ridings.

The return match came off on the l2th instant when a large party from the West Ridings’ Sergeants' lvless visited our Sergeants

It is a.

weather season, and will shortly leave Luck.
now for this purpose. A large house has
been taken to accommodate them during the

the middle of April for

On the 26th and 27th of last month, a party

"’Rewa“ at Karachi on the 11th instant, and
reached Lucknow a few days later.

charming summer, resort,

dinner, although the actual cost per dinner

T.

for the band, arrived from England per H.

and

where our detachment was stationed last
year, to play there during the ensuing hot

beaten by 58 points.

Our new Regimental Sergeant-Major, with
his wife and family, together with three boys

Other , amuse—

The band of the regiment has been select,ed. by the Band Committee of Naini Tal, the
well-known

Colonel de Lisle has obtained a handsome

skewbald horse which, it is intended, Will be
trained to
carry the regimental drums.

time by a smaller margin.

We are asked by Major Balfour to call
attention to the Old Comrades’ Dinner fund,
which is greatly in need of subscriptions.
This excellent scheme was the means, it Wlll
be remembered,of bringing together a few
months ago many Old friends of the regiment,
and affording them a memorably pleasant
evening. To render these reunions successful, it will readily be seen that it is necessary
to make the smallest possible charge for
tickets of admission. in the case of the first

Subscriptions should be sent to M'dJOI‘ K.
R. Balfour, Kingston House, Dorchester

which

was carried out in the regiment some time
back, and was subsequently introduced as an
item in

we should say, it

hardly seemslike eight year
s ago since we
marched ragged and dirty, but
hard and ﬁt,
through the now famous town.
my_ﬁs .
' '"'*‘*~* ., W 7 fmi.\

use to the mounted branch of the force.
Accordingly

He is the instructor

referred to above.

ﬂ

when the squadron were successful ion each

’ "‘“‘"—w~...,,,.,,

‘4

THE‘EAGLE
THE EAGLE

occasion, by three goals to one.

Jeffrey?)

and Groom put on the points in the ﬁrst game,
while in the second, Cronin, Vanson and
Whittingham were responsible for the goals.

The band of the regiment were visited by
the band of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry on the 4th and 5th instants, and in a

series of games the teams came out level with
a win each and a draw. Cricket, K S. L. I.
won by one run ; Foctball, pointless draw:
Hockey. Royals victorious by 4 goals to ml.
A brief account of the Meerut week and the

stags were shot, the best measuring
37
inches. During the remaining days, beats

for tiger and leopard were most successful,
the Lieutenant-Governor bagging a very ﬁne

tigress.

The bag up to the time Lord Charles

and Mr. Houstoun left was—2 tiger, 7 leopard,
and IG gon stag, since when 3 more tiger have
been added to the bag. Lord Charles shot one

gén and M r. Houstoun '2 leopard and 2 gOn.
The Regimental hounds during the last
month have been able to show some very
excellent sport, ﬁve jackal being accounted

Inter-Regimental Polo Tournament will be

for on ﬁve successive days.

found in the present issue. With the loss of
Mr. Tomkinson our team had little hope of
Winning, nevertheless they contrived to put
up a very ﬁne game against the team that beat
them and which in turn met defeat at the
hands of the winners of the tournament

considered unusually good in this, at present,
very dry, and bad scenting country. The
condition of the hounds reﬂects the greatest
credit on the kennel management. Owing to
the increasing heat the season will now soon
be over, and arrangements have been made
for the hounds to spend the hot weather at
Naini Tal, where they did so well last year

Captain Lord Charles Fitamaurice and Mr.
Houstoun have just returned from a most
enjoyable and successful shoot with the
Lieutenant-Governor, Sir John Hewitt, in Pilibhit. The ﬁrst two days were spent in beating
bhurjis for leopard. Several were seen, none
of which, however, oﬁfered the chance of a
shot. The next three days were spent after
gon (swamp deer) on the north bank of the
Sarda river. This gen preserve, belonging
to the brothers Mangai and Baby Kha", is the
ﬁnest in India. In about three square miles
of very thick, long, swamp—gm» jungle there
are some 500 gm. The shooting is most
difﬁcult owing to the grass which stands from
8 ft. to 10 ft. high, and is only penetrable on

elephants Although the Shot-ting is all done
‘from howdahed elephants, still one seldom
gets more thana snapshot.

Some very ﬁne

This must be

under the care of Pte, Holmes.
On the whole, in spite of the dry season we
have had extraordinarily good sport, hardly a
day without a run, and many days which may
well be marked in “red letters.” Up to the
time of writing, which, unfortunately, appears
to be practically the end of the season, the
bounds have accounted for 25 jackal.

EQUIPMENT OF A FIELD OFFICER.

HISTORICAL

RECORD

Of the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, containing an account of its formation in the reign of
King Charles the Second, and of its subsequent aervices to the present time.
By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(Continued )

In the spring of 1907, being ordered to take
the ﬁeld, the regiment was detached on the
9th of April to Denia, and while encamped at
Collera, a town at the mouth of the river
Xucar, in Valencia, the battle of Almanza was
fought on the 2Rth of April, when the allied
army, commanded by the Marquis das Minas
and the Earlof Galway, was nearly annihilated
bv the French and Spaniards under the Duke
oi? Berwick. Soon after this disaster the
Royal Dragoons joined the wreck of the allies
which had been collected by the Earl of
Galway andwere engaged for three months in
marches and countermurches,

observing the

motions of the enemy and endeavouring to
preserve the rich and extensive province of
Catalonia from their power. They formed
afterwards part of the force assembled for
the relief of Lerida, but which was found to
beimpracticable, the

kingdoms

of Arragon

and Valencia being occupied by the enemy.
Catalonia was now the only portion of Spain

remaining in the hands of Charles.

The Earl

During the Meerut week, the 17th Lancers
held a boxng tournament, one of the features
of which was a special six-round contest be-

of. Gralway soon after Almanza resigned the
command of the British Army in that coun-

tween Corporal Strath of ours and Private

trél‘lhe journal of Lieutenant-Colonel de.St.
Pierre does not extend beyond this perlod,

Heathcote of

the

Scots Fusiliers.

Strath

had previously beaten Heathcote, and the
present ﬁght had been arranged as the result
of a challenge from the latter who was evi~
dently not satisﬁed with the verdict. Considering the diiference in weight-Heathcote
scaling 10st. 4ib to his opponent's 95t.
81h. “Strath is to be congratulated on this

second encounter, which he won on points.
Heathcote did most of the leading in the ﬁrst
two rounds, but for the remainder, Strath had
matters much to his own liking.

but from it sufﬁcient extracts have been
made, it is hoped, to establish its claim both
to general and regimental interest. It may
alsh in these days be amusing to read the
following lists of the effects packed in the

Colonel’s trunks, as showing the ﬁeld equlpinent of a ﬁeldoﬁicer of cavalry in 170?. it
may be noted that, with respect to uniform,
no alteration appears to have been made smce
the warrant of 1684 :—

The latest entry in the journal of the
strength of the regiment is of the 17th of
May, 1706, when three troops, amou uting to
about 135 men, were under the com maud
of Lieu t. Colonel de St. Pierre at Cuillera.
The Colonel died in the year 1713.
On taking the ﬁeld in 1708 the Royal Dra»

goons were reported to be “ in excellent condition,"* but in the campaign of this year
their service was chieﬂy on outpost duties in
Catalonia and Valencia, the allied army being now commanded by Marshal Count Guido
de Steremberg. an ofﬁcer of reputation, who
had commanded the Imperial troops
in

Hungary.
The regiment wintered in Catalonia. In
the camping of the following year it was
similarly employed in defensive operations,
encamping for a considerable time on the
banks of the Segre, when, in the month of
August, 1709. the towns of Balaguer and
Ager were captured, and garrisons placed in
them.
The campaign of 1710 was illustrated by
more important events, the two claimants

[CLANDSLAAGTE.

i 2186 March, 1900.

Un paire des cordes de fourrage.

After some
manoeuvring,
LieutenantGeneral (afterwards Earl) Stan
hope, who
commanded the British troops in
Spain. being at the head of the leading colu
mn of the
allies on the march towards Alfaras,
dis iovored, on the morning of the 27th of July,
a body
of the enemy in front of the village
of Almanara, in Catalonia, and obtained perm
ission
from the Archduke to attack them with
the
cavalry, of which the Royal Regiment
of
Dragoons had the honour to form pa rt ilil this
memora ble occasion.
The sun was going down on the horizo
n,
and the shades of the evening were deepening
over the valleys of Catalonia, when the British
commander led forward his warlike hearse—
men.
Before
him
appeared twenty-two
squadrons of Castilian cavalry. the pride
and ﬂower of the Spanish army, with Phillip‘s
Life Guards on the right; a second line of the
same strength was seen in rear and nine
battalions of Infantry supported the cayalry.

Against this force the

gallant

Stanhope

advanced at the head of Harvey's Horse, now
2nd Dragoon Guards “Queen‘s Bays.” His
front line consisted of sixteen squadrons with
a reserve of six

squadrons

The Spaniards

came on with all the pride of war, when the
opposing lines dashing into each other at
full speed. the contest was of short duration.
The left of the enemy soon gave way; the
Life Guards were routed, with the loss of a
standard and pair of kettle-drums ; their
second line ﬂed in confusion ; the supporting
infantry
were seized with
panic,
and

DEAR M.,

We moved out on the 1st instantto attack
Bulwana, or, to give it its full name, [sim‘oul—

majority of the houses being of corrugated
iron. The town-hall, one of the few masonry
buildings, had evidently suffered the most,
part of the clock turret being shot away, and
a holein the wall marked the passage of a.
big shell, while many of the buildings in “Tin.

Whana. At daybreak, however, our scouts who

Town,” where we were quartered, were liter—

had gone up the mountvtin during the night,

ally riddled with shot holes.
In the evening we met old and new friends
of the 5th Dragoon Guards. 5th Lancers, and

rep'n'ted it clear, and we rode up Without ad.
venture.

The

Boers had

left their laager

standing, and we. found quantities of rusks,
potatoes, mealie meal, coffee and sugar, also

several cases of castor-oil which would appear
to be their favourite medicine, if one dis
regarded the empty square-shaped bottles
which, giving forth a pungent odour of Hollands, we found scattered around. We bivouacked close by, and next day the horses
:nd a rest, saddles were cleaned, our wellventilated clothing patched up, and we had

a wash, the ﬁrst one for a week, except a lick
with the corner of a towel damped with a few
drops from the water-bottle ‘.
We marched through Ladysmith on the 3rd
instant. As we approached. those of the garrison in the trenches ran out to meet us, and
we gave them our ration of meat and biscuit,
andialso all the tobacco we had.

The garrison lined the streets; they had
donned their best uniforms and looked pain-

fully clean compared to our ragged army
We expected to ﬁnd them looking bad after
living, on 8-07.. mealie meal. a biscuit and a
little horse ﬂesh per diem, but were shocked

18th andlgth Hussars, and heard all about

'the attack on Ladysmith by the Boers on
January 6th. The attack had commenced before 3 .-\.M. and continued till nearly 8 P M,
seine of the intrenchments being taken and
retaken no less than three times. The Devons
charged with the bayonet in a. heavy rainstorm at dusk and drove the enemy outof a
position they had held all day on Wagon Hill.
We remained in Ladysmith four days,
and were not sorry to leave it for the
sweeter atmosphere of the veldt. We reconnoitred towards Elandslaagte, and heard that

the Free State Boers had retired over the
Drakensberg, and the Transvaal Boers over
the

Biggarsberg

to

Laings

Nek, where

Kruger had met and turned them back.
0dr patrols saw Boers about the 9th instant
and a day later an ofﬁcer of ours had his
horse shot whilst on patrol. We moved near.
or the Berg and camped about two miles
north-east of Elandslaagte station.

About the 19th instant the Boers had been

were; some of them like shadows, thin, drawn

reinforced on the Biggarsberg, and “A "
Squadron came in touch with them near
Wessels Nek. We had one. man (Pte. Thomp.

faces, and sunken eyes, hardly strong enough

son) missing, and later a native came in and re-

stand iinfact, some dropped to the ground
as we were passing, but still raised a feeble

bulance was sent out with a fatigue party and

to see how attenuated and

weak they really

tothe Spanish throne leading their armies

Stanhope’s brave trooperschased the fugitives

in person. The Duke of Anjou commenced
operations by the siege of Balaguer, but on
the approach of the allies he retired; and
when the Archduke Charles joined his army,

from the ﬁeld with great slaughter, following
them up among the rocks and hills until darkness rendered it no longer possible to distinguish friends from foes

night, each regiment as it came along being

( To be co nl inued.)

of the shelling it had been subjected to for
one hundred and nineteen days, owing to the

* The present state of Europe for I708,

*“

cheer.

The-garrison must have been hoarse that
hailed by name followed by volleys of cheers.
The town itself did not show many Signs

ported one of our men had beer. shot. The am.
Thompson and his horse were found both shot
dead A party of thirty Boers held up the am.
bulance all night, and speaking of Thompson
said he had been shot because he refused to
surrender.

Yours,
OL-OL.

.. “-“‘""‘~w-x.,«.....

4“

THE EAGLE
49

THE \EAGr L'E

ANNUAL REPORT TO COLONELlN-CHIEF.
To FIELD-MARsHAL, HIS IMPERIAL MA—
JESTY, THE EMPEROR OF GERMANY.
COLONEL-IN-CHIEF, THE ROYAL .
DRAGOONS.

YOUR MAJESTY,
l have the

honour to forward for Your

Majesty’s information the following report
on the Royal Dragoons for the past year : ~1. Since my last report, dated 12th Feb~
rnary, 1907, Your Majesty’s Regiment has

maintained its

high standard of efﬁciency

in all branches of Cavalry training. Last
week the InSpector-General of Cavalry made
his annual inspection, and expressed himself satisﬁed with all he saw.
2. Personal skill-at-arms has much improved, and at our annual mounted sports
ten days ago, the greatest interest was
shown in all the competitions, and the various
events were closely contested.

3.

Since my last reporta monthly regi-

mental paper has been instituted with a View
to recording all events connected with the
regiment for the information of friends in
Europe, and to teach all ranks how to express themselves clearly when contributing
to the paper
Old ofﬁcers have sent war;
congratulations to the staff of “The Eagle "
as this regimental paper is called, andcthe
pgper appears to be very generally appreciat.
e .
4, The Cottage Home Scheme has failed
to appeal to the committee of old Royals
appointed to carry it out, and an alternative
scheme has been proposed as a memorial to
those of the Royal Dragoons who fell in the
war in South Africa. Up to the time Ileft
England in November, I felt that the original
scheme would be adopted, but there seems

to be a feeling among the old Royals that

members of the

Cathedral,

in St.

and to form a fund

Iattachacopy

jesty’s information.

0.

(

The signallers of this unit are thoroughly
ﬁt for Field service."

Owing to famine in these districts all

R. H. HAMMERSLEY-SZJITH, Lieut,
Asst. Inspector of Signalling,

manoeuvres had to be abandoned, and
Rrivade training and Staff rides have
been
substituted.
In consequence there has been

no i-ppOi'tnnity of comparing the ﬁcrhti
nrr
value of the regiment with that oflas
: yea;
I consider it has improved slightly in
every
detail, and the Inspector-General's repor
t
states that it is “a good regiment tit in ever
way for active service. ”
.V
Several changes have taken place amon
u

the ofﬁcers in

the past year:

Major

1;

Makins, D. S. 0., has rejoined from the
Staff
College; Major 0. G. Morrison, who has been

“ The horses are in very good condition and
looking well.
The stables and lines are clean and well
kept, and the surroundings sanitary.
Shoeing Forge and shoeing satisfactory.”
H. T. SAWYER, Major,
Army Veterinary Corps.

Staff employ for several years

THE MEERUT POLO WEEK. ’
Of all the pleasant gatherings in India,
there is, perhaps, no event so enjoyable to
cavalry Ofﬁcers as the Inter~Regimental Polo
Tournament. Not only are the polo teams of,
usually, eight or nine cavalry regiments collected there to decide the competition, but
members of every cavalry regiment in lndia
assemble from all parts to meet their friends
and witness the interesting struggle.
This year the polo has been more interesting than ever. No team appeared to be much
better than any other, and the very close
matches afforded the spectators the greatest
pleasure and excitement. On one day, during

"’ The Regiment is well commanded, and has
a good lot. of officers.
The personnel is good, and individuality is

bestowed on Your Majesty’s Regiment, and

properly encouraged.

the ﬁrst round, no fewer than ﬁve games stood
with even scores when the whistle sounded,

especially for the honour in receivino by
the hands of Your Majesty’s RepresenIative
on the 18th June, the anniversary of the

The training is on sound practical lines, and
standard of. military proﬁa satisfactory
ciency has been attained. Scouting and reconnoitring receive special attention.
The discipline is very satisfactory.
The interior economy is very satisfactory,
and special attention is given to sanitation.
The horses are in good condition. M nsketry
and signalling are satisfactory.
The health is good, and the Regiment is in
every way tit for active service.”

This surely must be a record. Several teams
were unable to put in their full strength,
while the Seaforth Highlanders, who play very
good polo= were absent on more important
business. being actively employed against the
Zakka Khols in the Baznr Valley. The 15th
Hussars were without one of their best players in the person of Captain LivingstoneLearmonth. who also was on service with the
punitive expedition. The Royals were repre-

Battle of Waterloo, a wreath to decorate the

Regimental Standard. All ranks unite with
inein feeling it is a high honour to belong
to the Royal Dragoons, of which Your Majesty is Colonel-in-Chief.
I have the honour to be,
Your Majesty’s obedient servant,
H. de B. de LISLE, Colonel
Commanding the Royal Dragoohs.

Extracts from the report on Annual Signalling
Inspection for 1907.
->.-

Lucknow Brigade.

sented by Mr. «Miles, Captain Lambert, Major
Makins, and Colonel de Lisle (back).

Both in the Field and in Barracks the) duties
are carried out in a thoroughly satisfactory
manner. The condition of the horses leaves
nothing to be desired. The regiment is- well
mounted. The general health of all ranks "is
satisfactory. The Regiment is ﬁt for service
in every'detail; "

has now retired; Captain Hon. 0. H.
0,
Guest has gone home to the Staff Colle
ge:
Captain T. M. S. Pitt and Captain C
AY
Calvert have retired.
I
I
2nd-Lieutenant H. Jump and 2nd-Lieute
nant E. A. it. Rube have recently joined.
I
In conclusion, 1 have the honour to thank
Your Majesty for the gracious kindness ever

es

they would prefer a tablet

regiment.

of the report of the committee for Your M'i-

. “ A most satisfactory inspection and the
signallers have maintained their high state 0 f
eiﬁCIency.

‘f The Regiment is now thoroughly season'-

od.

The officers and men know their work.

was playing, the other three being in England;

In spite of this, their game against the
Central India‘Horse was so even that when
the “halt " sounded, both teams had scored'
four goals

the

each.

As’the ultimate‘“winners;

10th Hussars, only defeated'the Central

. ..._.—-.....Mls.,.‘__

50
THE
India Horse by one goal
after a very har

d
fight, we can, therefore, reasonab
ly suppose
that with our full team we shou
ld have rehdered a very good account. Hav
ing no chance
of success this year, it was not
thought worth
whlle to buy new and expensiv
e ponies, and
some of our best ponies have
been playimr

many years.

EAGLE

by
“ BRIAN BORU.”
IV, The Dhobi.
A little water clears us of this
deed:
How easy is it then 1'

'

b

The racing in Meerut provided amu
sement
on three afternoons of the week
. The expressmn “week ” is one that may not
be generally

pnderstood, so it is necessary to expl
ain that
in India oﬁicers can obtain ten
days’ leave at
any time, if they can be spar
ed, and the

“week’s" amusement often spreads over eiOh
t
or nine days.
a
The evenings were ﬁlled up with
dinners,
dances and theatricals.
The Regimental

Dramatic Club of the 17th Lancers put
on a.
really excellent entertainment “ Ali Baba
,”
written in, and for the regiment, adap
ted to
Indian manners and expressions, and
acted
with much talent, is a performance very
hard
to beat, and the 17th Lancers deserve
the

highest credit for their amusing entertai
n
ment.
Not the least interesting event of the wee
k
was the Horse Show. There, most of the best
horses and ponies in India compete for the
various prizes. As the events are arranged
to
include hunters, chargers, harness horses,

and polo ponies, the racehorses are nota
ble
to compete, and the show becomes a comp
etition among the various owners. In consequence, the greatest interest is shown in the
judging, and the rival merits of various stab
les
are freely backed.
As the Subalterns‘ Tournament began on
the following Monday, the Meerut week came
to an end punctually on the Saturday without
going into the next week, as so frequently

happens It proved the most enjoyable week
attended for many years, and we look forward
tea similar experience next year when we
again become the guests of our friends. the
17th Lancers.

THE EAGLE

THE SERVANT QUESTION,

Shakespeare.

Of all things essential to physical
comfort
perhaps none is greater than clean
clothing?
dh1s1s so the wide world over, but
probably
In no country more than India is its
importance so manifest. Now every oneis
aware
that “clean," “smart,” and “ soldierly
”
are, more or less, synonymous terms,
which
go to show that the soldier is held
to be,
among other things, a pattern of cleanliness.
What, perhaps, is not so generally known
is
that heis expected to sustain this enviable

reputation, by some miracle or other I take
it, on the three shirts and three pairs
of
socks whicha generous Government issues
to him on his joining the service, and forgets
ever afterwards to renew. That he contrives

carefully away in their boxes for kit inspection ! But I do contend that when serving in
the comparatively cold and equable climate of
England, Mr. Atkins has little need to bother
his head with washerwomen or laundries.
Looking at this broad-mindedly, and entirely
without prejudice, it will be seen that it is by
no means a defect in our military system ; on
the contrary, it accustoms men to the neces-

sity for taking the ﬁeld untrammelled by the
impedimenta which is the result of extensive
wardrobes, thereby facilitating mobility, than
which, for an army, there is no greater asset.
All this, however, must needs undergo a
change when we transfer our soldier to the
stewy, dusty, grimy plains of india. The
substitution of cotton for woollen uniforms.
the almost perpetual perspiration, and the
dust-storms
combine to make frequent
changes of linen a dire necessity, and
the question cf washing consequently becomes, to the soldier, one of serious moment.
Were the change to end here, all would be

to do so may be attributed chieﬂy to the fact

well.

that during his walks abroad, these garments
are not usually visible, for, according to a

about an alteration in his habits, it is respon-

certain very distinguished officer, the
wash.

in his temper, his manners, and his morals.

ing of shirts is an altogether fruitless
and
unnecessary labour. Referring to the regulation grey ﬂannel shirt, more commonly
known as “greyback," I have it on good
authority that he remarked: “ Pshaw.’ turn
’em inside out—brush ’em, and pipeclay the
collars !” Now I do not mean to say that the
soldier at home never indulges his shirt in the
luxury of a wash, any more than i wish it to be
understood that the original supply is never
augmented. Many men possess “civvy”
shirts in addition to their military issue.
Also, I have known men who, highly indignant
at being expect-ed to “soldier "‘ for, at least,
seven years, on three shirts, procure one or

And the person~for person it is—who does
this, who transforms poor Tom my‘s tranquil
sea of existence into a perfect tempest of annoyance and vexation is the Indian equivalent
of the washerwoman——the dhobi.
In most countries, a man is free to adopt
what trade or profession he likes, and none
may say him nay. Hence, it is possible to
ﬁnd apork-butcher whose sons are, severally,
a diamond merchant, a member of parliament,
and a shipowner ; whose daughter marries an

even two extra ones, at their own expense

from the Quarter master’s store—and put them

But it does not.

For while bringing

sible also for a. radical change for the worse

Austrian baron, and whose

brother-in-law,

the descendant 0sz coal-heaver, ekes out a
precarious living by presiding behind the
counter of a stewed eel shop. In India this
kind of thing is unknown. Every class of
society is appointed to a certain calling, and
there it stays, It would seem thatin the very
beginning of things so many families were

‘31

allotted their parts to play through the ages
with strict injunctions, the disregard of which
would bring about the extermination of the
clan, to depart not therefrom, This would
account for the otherwise apparently inexplicable fact that bhistis are bhistis from generation to generation, and that the dhobi family
were dhobis when Julius Caesar was a LanceCorporal. In digressing so far, I am actuated
by a motive of pure generosity. It is my wish
to show that there is possibly some excuse for
this wretched being whose sole aim in life
would appear to be that of worrying respectable persons into a premature grave.
His only patrimony is his father’s vices.
The lady he espouses, being a dhobi’s daughter, is blessed with a similar legacy, and so

each generation succeeds to this awful inheritance. Now if only the stupid caste rules
could be relaxed so as to admit of an infusion,
say, of honest, gentle bhisti, the dhobi might
soon become a possible person, and who
knows but what, in the course of time, his
defects would be entirely eliminated, and he
would develop into a charming and desirable
member of the community. But this is a
matter for scientists and politicians. I am
concerned with him only as he is, and knowing what he is responsible for, I could exhaust

a whole dictionary of abusive terms in his
description. Who has not met the peppery,
choleric, explosive retired oﬁicer, and, on re
marking on his exhibitions of ﬁery temper,
been told : “ Yes, he served in India, that's
the result of the peculiar Indian climate, you
know.” Absurd! That temper was gener~
ated, and has been fostered and developed to
its present fearful proportions by the Indian
dhobi !
“ Dhobi " comes from the verb dhomi (to
wash), and translated literally, means “deer
of washing." On ﬁrst acquaintance one is
inclined to think this a misnomer, but after a'
while it is discovered the appellation is intended in another sense, for the dhobi is beyond

any possible doubt the greatest “d0er ” of

‘ ‘ “'"anws...

5:

'THE’EAGL‘E

washing imaginable ; thatis to say, the article
he undertakes to 'do is so thoroughly and
conclusively done, as to be irretrievably done
for. His cheek and conﬁdence are little short
of colossal. He makes his appearance with .a
forged chit, and recklessly contracts to wash
for a whole squad ron—in other words, he risks
his life by exciting a “ dhobieidal ” passion in
the breasts of a hundred and ﬁfty odd stalwart dragoons. But, bless you, he would take
on an army corps E
The manner of his obtaining employment is
not a little instructive. See Debi Din wearing
a smart suit which his uncle has but yesterday washed and ironed for the. Cantonment
Magistrate‘s khitmatgar. He has dug up
from its resting-place in the corner of his

work of gathering the thousand and one arti‘
cles of wear commences.
.
;
:
Now nearly every garment contains the'
regimental number of its owner. Many con'—'
tain initials, while some have even ranks and
names in full. These, however, are not sufi
ticient for Debi, who adds his own private
“ Dhobi mark", a huge disﬁguring hieroglyphic, which by the aid of a stick and some
vile, odoriferous pigment he imprints invari—
ably on the most conspicuous part of the
garment. Tho mystic signs are made up of
dots and dashes, and since the custom is very
ancient, the probability suggests itself that
the famous Mr. Morse got his idea herei'rom.
Haviner completed the collecting and mark—
ing to his satisfaction, he bundles the washing

to eradicate dirt, and~sp/n,sh—he

hovel a dirty little

equally dirty testimonials. These have been
written by
persons
leaving for home,

into two or three sheets and takes it home.
where. until the following morning. it does
duty as bedding for his family. He would

and those who have served in India, and know,

not think of commencing work right away.

therefore, the perfect contentment reigning
in the heart of the man whose kit is packed
ready to catch the next mail for England, will
not wonder why they were ever given.
Debi

There is plenty of time, he says, and besideshas he not done sufficient for one day in. securing the contract? Lying on his back, he

Din approaches the Squadron Quartermaster
Sergeant in whose hands the selection usually

the End Troop bundle, and gazes

faction on his half dozen na ked. dirty children,

do it! A. dozen or so more splashes, a rinse,
a hurried w ring. and the poor. ill-used shirt
is laid out on the ground to dry. And so the
work of destruction goes on.
Be it understood the (,l/lﬂf is quite public.
and for a hundred yards or so along the bank
the place is alive with “splashers” which
include oﬁicers‘ (lhobis, troop dhobis. the
commissioner's dhohi, and the village dhobi.
There is food for thought here. it perhaps

book, containing several

buries his head luxuriously in the softness of
with satisi

not at ‘all e’ss-entiat, Standing knee-deep in
the water, heseize’s a shirt by its sleeves and
plunges it below the surface. For a moment
it is held there, then pulling it out, and

.53

PTA-(1" L E

T HE

rais-

ingit above his head after the manner of the
farrier with his sledge hammer, he braces
himself, clenches his teeth, and brings it
down with a mighty Whack upon the board
or rock. “ Ohio ! "’ he says, vith each strokcﬁ
an ejaculation somewhat akin to our “ Fuel
for shamei‘ﬂg/luy; “chio I“ Spins/z. At the
second stroke a button llies,at the third a seam
is rent asunder, and the fourth decorates

the neck-band with an artistic fringe. But
what of that 2’ God knows there are any nu mber of tailors in the bazaar. His mission is
means to

importantly, returnedto the rightful owners.
It is interesting to note the ironing process.
It may sound paradoxical, but he uses a brass iron! The handle is iron, so also is the
belly into which is placed a shovelful of burn
ing coals, but the bottom is a sheet of brass.
This huge instrument is pushed and pulled
backwards and forwards over the. article of
wear until some sort of smoothness is obtained. The first few garments are invariably
scorched, while, as the coals quickly burn
out, the last one or twr» have

not their wrin-

kles flattened. But Debi Din judges not by
results. He has banged those shirts in the
manner taught by his father; he has pushed
and pulled the islri~as the " iron ” is called
—the prescribed number of times. What
then? God is witness that he has done his
duty 3 Perhaps in lighting his hookah he has
dropped a burning ember on a white drill
jacket. This doesn't worry him a little bit.
it is even possible he regards the hole which
has resulted as highly decorative, but he
knows the stupid suit/blag are veryfmad about
these things. so to obviate any unpleasantness he has recourse to a professional trick.
Starch worked into a still paste is plastered

lies. A sop to Cerberus in the shape of a few
annas to the sahib‘s bearer, and the remain-

who are engagedii'. the oppOsito corner of the

is consolation to know

a

over the hole, and the Isl/i is run over it until

hut in a desperate game of pushball with the

der is simplicity itself.

bundle

common level somewhere, and Tommy, who
is not on Government House list, would most

it liardens, when, if the garment be handled
gently and held some little distance away. it
appears quite sound. Of course, soon after
it is.donned the starch cracks, and the injury
becomes apparent—but then may not the
sahib have scorched it with his lighted cigar 1’
The work of returning the so-called clean
clothes is no very difficult proceeding in the
case of an otiicer. The dbobi has been careful to inflict as little disfigurement as possible, and the sahib’s bearer is enabled to
identify each article as it is ﬁshed out of the

With a llourish of his

chits he explains how his services have

been

sought after by the best blood in the land.
How his father washed for the Rajah of Hate
pitpore. How he himself has honoured with
his services at one time or another every
cavalry regiment in the service
He even remembers the names of the squadron oifiCers
and the sergeannmajors, and if encouraged
will relate many fearful and wonderful stories
of his experiences.
Should the sergeantmajor hesitate, Debi Din plays his trump card
and wins. Of course, he will not charge for
the sahib’s washing, which he assures him
shall be turned out fit for a Viceroy 5 Having
accomplished this necessary preliminary,voii‘
goes Debi, Din to the troop bungalows, and the

of the

4th

Troop.

The

following.

morning, however, he is astir before dawn
and taking the elder members of his family.
to assist him, proceeds to the glint, or

wash-

ing place, which may be a river bank, ail/rel
or a tank.

If he can afford it, he has a donkey

that

we.

all find

likely, did he only think of it. hail with secret
satisfaction the knowledge that his grey
worsted socks and the Lieutonant-Governor's
silk pyjamas had bathed together in the
sacred waters of the Gauges,

and had after-

—who does not know the dhobi’s donkey, an
animal about the size of a greyhound I—to
carry the bundles, or, may be, an attenuated

wards reclined against each other on the
bank contemplating the glorious blue of the

bullock performs the duty.

humour, had lifted one arm of the jacket and
dropped it caressingly and protectingly on a
fresh, gaping wound in the heel of the left
sock '.
But Debi Din has other things to do. The

Arrived at the

git/11,, the clothes are deposited on the ground
and work begins. About a foot out from the
water’s edge a small, grooved plank is fixed,
on two large stones. This is the jig/la or
washing board. Often this is dispensed with.
and he operates on a large rocl . The use of
soap depends upon circumstances, and is

Indian sky,

while

the breeze,

in Sportive

clothes have to be dried, taken home, ironed,

sorted, folded carefully so as to conceal the
frayed and broken parts. and lastly, and most

general heap.

But with the troops it is a

very different matter. Debi takes up a posi—
tion in the centre of the bungalow, and de»
spite the assistance of one of the menwho
reads out names and list of garments from,
a book, he contrives in an incredibly short

. ,_._.—.._.‘,,~,.‘,_

54

THE

EAGLE

THE

space of time to get himself and the washing
into such a hopeless muddle, and the troops,

is left of his once serviceable shirt, he
too
joins in the now general chorus against this

in consequence, into such a boiling rage, that
it is a matter for wonder that he ever issues
from the barrack-room alive.

exasperating wretch who squats on his
haunches perfectly unabashed, apparently as

“Corporal Smith," reads the

oﬁ‘iciating

little moved by the threatening clamour as
was Daniel in the lions’ den.
And this with little variation goes on week
after week. He is abused, ﬁned, and made to
pay for lost and damaged articles, but he
comes up smiling every time. The saints

secretary, “ Two shirts, one suit 0’ white,
Khaki pants, two pairs 0’ socks." Debi dives
his hand into the heap, and produces a. small
bundle which he hands over with the remark,
“ Accha! Coprail Sahib, chha piece hai,"

protect the man, too. who wears “civies.”

and sits backwith a sigh of relief at having,

Collars he ruins at one wash, and the hair-

as he thinks, successfully disposed. of one

restorer that could raise whiskers as quickly

claimant.

as Debi Din can—on cuﬁ‘s and shirt~fronts—
would realise a fortune for its inventor. He
has hisown ideas in the matter of dressing
a collar. If he is uncertain as to which side
should be outward, he overcomes the difﬁcul-

But

the Corporal

refuses

to

accept a jacket three sizes too small for him,
and obviously not his own. “Here, buddly
this, you black son of a sea-cook, this aint
mine I" Debi Din looks up, the personiﬁcation
of innocent wonderment. How stupid these

people are, he thinks.

He took away ﬁve

pieces, and surely he has returned the same
number. Then how positively ridiculous to
become angry over nothing! After a somewhat lively duet, made up of unkind remarks
on the part of the Corporal, and protestations of innocence from the dhobi, to the
accompaniment of the growls of the next man
on the list who wants to know “ What about
it 1’" and with an expostulatory obligato from
the “ secretary" who is anxious to have done
with the stupid business. the right jacket is

found, and Debi turns his attention to‘ the
other

men.

“ What!

you

long—suﬁ'ering

blackingpot ! " yells an infuriated Thomas,
“that my shirt—'and I sent a new ’un 2’” with

ty by ironing it out straight and stiff, leaving
you to bend it as you please.

EAGLE

feet, and the steam rising and ﬁltering
through to the top ” loosens the dirt " ! Remember, not only your clothes, but probably
also your bearer’s and the dhobi’s own form
part of this pyramid of cloth ! He has the

reputation of being. further,

the heaviest

drinker among the servant class, and by reason of this he is invariably hopelessly in debt.
His favourite beverage is darn, a. ﬁery spiritu~
ous concoction, which he takes, he says, to
remove his weariness after his day’s work,
evidently quite overlooking the'fact’ that he
defeats his own object thereby, in setting up
a greater, and less honourable weariness.
I had thought tointroduce herein some side
lights on the social laws and customs of this

plague among servants, but I refrain, partly
because my vocabulary of unpleasant adjec~
tives is limited, though principally out of
respect for the feelings of the many helpless

But he is sel

dom in doubt, with the result that one day,

and unfortunate persons who are compelled

having dressed hurriedly, you are asked if
you are travelling for a collar-maker, .and
your attention is drawn to the maker’s name
and address which is gaping over your coat
collar on the left shoulder, while somewhere
round the back your friends are amused to
read “New Military, Four Fold, 1 .5.”
This is not all. Ioften ﬁnd myself wonderingif theladies who hand over their dainty

to employ him. Of course, 1am quite prepared to believe that ignorant, and insular
persons will aver that I am animated by some
personal spite; but I am safe in the knowledge that if they care to appeal to the opinion
of any one of my companions in misfortune~
the Messieurs Atkins—they would find my
evidence not merely corroborated, but enlarged upon with a force and colour‘ that
would compel their astonishment and admiration I It would, I feel sure, be then seen that,
on the contrary, my whole treatment has been

clothing to the tender mercies of Debi

Din

can pOssihly be aware that quite apart from
his villainous methods of working, he is
notorious as the dirtiest of all the tribes.
Even the sweeper whose very name, as we
know, it is considered bad form to mention in

which, he hurls a much rent article of apparel
across the bungalow at Debi Din. 1t misses,

polite society, is in reality acut above him,

and opening our, sails airily into acorner,
ﬂutters momentarily, and collapses like a
crippled aeroplane into a water bucket.
“Hallo! what's coming off ‘3” demands another man, starting forward as he catches
sight of the regimental number on the garment in question, “Why, that’s mine!” And
when, on closer inspection he realises that
the regimental number is practically all that

and would rather perish of hunger than eat
from the same dish as the dhobi. A sweeper—
imagine! This is not nice to thin'( about, and
I ask forgiveness for bringing to light these
points, as well as several others which may
give rise to equally discomforting thoughts
He has a contrivance called a bhatci, which
is simply a boiler over a ﬁre, and this is piled
overnight with clothes to the height of several

vantage.

5
The courts were covered (as is the-

customin this country where stone ﬂoors
are more common than wood) with tightly—
stretched, highly-waxed canvas, and made a
splendid ﬂoor. Two large shamianas were
erected over the dancing and sitting-out
spaces, the poles being draped with ribbons
of regimental colours, while festoons of simi‘
larhues hung from pole to pole. With en—
trance and pathways marked out by pennoned lances, a ﬁne

show of hunting, ﬂowers

and palms, together with the various uniforms of the men and the pretty dresses of
the ladies,—the whole scene was one gorgeous
colour effect. Dancing commenced shortly
after 9-30 P.M., and was continued until =l A.M,
Supper was laid in the mess room, and was
excellently arranged and served.
Colonel and Mrs. de Lisle, Major and Mrs.

Steele, Major and Mrs Wood, Capt. and Mrs.
Burch, Lieut. and Mrs. Crowley, a party from
Flagstaff House, which included Miss Tom-

kinson, as well as representatives of most of
the local staﬂs, regiments and departments,
both officers and non-commissioned oﬂicers,
and a large sprinkling of civilian friends,
were present, and these, with the unmarried

ofﬁcers of the regiment, and the Sergeants’
Mess members and ladies, made up a very

large gathering, and the first part of the
evening saw the floor full for every dance.
Every one remarked on the excellence of
the arrangements, and the event wasa dis-

characterised bya marked generosity towards

tinct success, for which the committeein par.

this incorrigible, unendurable,

ticular, and the mess in general, are to be
congratulated

temper-pro.

voking villain—the regimental dhobi.

“ RELIEF OF LADYSMITH ” BALL.
The. annual ball given by the members of

the Sergeants Mess, and called for the ﬁrst ‘ ,
time by the-above title, was‘held'ou February
19th, on the two large tennis courts outside
the mess. By this arrangement much larger
dancing space was gained, and the night
being a very ﬁne one, gave an additional ad-

SQU A DRON SPORTS.
These sports which are held annually to
decide the best men of each squadronrwho
later compete as squadron representatives
in the Regimental sports, and the de Lisle
Sword competition, took place at various
timesduringthe- early part of last month,
and provided some very keen competitions.

DE LISLE SWORD COI‘ iPETiTiON.
'l‘his competition was instituted last (rear by
Colonel deluislc, whonnnunlly presents it sword
of honour to the best min-zit arms. 'l'he con petitors are composed ot' live selected men
from each squadron, and are Chosen during
the squadron sports which are held just prc~
viously.

REGIMENTAL SPORTS.
A very high standard of‘ skillet-arms was
the distinctive feature oi‘ theRegimental
sports which were held on Thursday and
Friday. the 18th and 14th of last month.
The tirst day was taken up in running off
the preliminary heats, and the ﬁnal took
place on Friday, commencing at 2 P M,.
when a large crowd of spectators assembled on the ground by the circus arena.
iVlarqueos had been erected and the officers
and

sergeants were

"at

home " to their

friends. and a very pleasant afternoon was
spent. Space forbids more than it mention
of the various prize—winners, but reference
must be made to the section jumping event.
A team from each troop undone composed of
trumpeters made up a total of seventeen
teams, and the competition resulted in as
ﬁneadisplay of ridingas one could wish to
see.
‘ ..
Mrs. de Lislepresented the prizes to the
winners, whose names are given below :—

been the means oi' incrcising the pioiicicncy
oi" individuals in horsenianship and the use of
arms to a very high degree, and the competition is an excellent one l'iom every point of
view. The sword which goes to the winner
is of the regulation sabre pattern

with silver

scahbard and handsome silver chased hilt.
The blade is inscribed with, on one side the
regimental arms, and on the other the words

“Presented by Colonel H de ii. de Lisl

till”

D. S. 0., to the best man ”it-a1 ms, 15k to,”

E A G L E
The highest possible points to be obtained
are 100, divided under four heads as follows 2e—

m)

Ilium/nuns/u'p,

Maximum marks, 25.——

Mnrlis awarded for correct position of man
and llul'se at all paces; the balance of the
horse; crossing difﬁcult Country and

over

fences; and the al ilily to ride at a full gal—
lop in a collected manner.
(h) Skill, (If-.lrms, Maximum marks, :5.~
’.l‘(nt-1ie~giug with a lance; tentpegging with a.
sword ;cuts with sword; points with sword ;

This ear the competition was very keenly
contested, and it is noteworthy that several
of the contestants were so evenly placed prior
to the ﬁnal event, sheepcutting, as to render

it impossible to predict the winner.
With the great- genernl improvement in

whileapartis scrolled to receive the win-

mounted sports, there should be an even
greater interest taken in the next year's

ner's name.

sword competition.

In addition to the sword the winner receives

a gold medal, of war-medal size. engraved
with a ﬁgure of a mounted tnztn,

by the crest oi" the regiment. with crossed
latices, swords and rillcs, whrlo across the
“For
centreis a scroll bearing,r the words

Sliill.” On the other side are the words
‘i The Royal Dragoons, ll’iUT 05, For b‘lsill-atArms: won by (winner’s name)"
enSilver and bronze medals, similarly
graved, are presented to the second and third
men, respectively.
Last vear‘s winners were. :‘Corporal Vanson, swiirdand gold medal.

a pro—
arms in u strict sense, but necessitate
Cavalry
Lita
ropnretuents
the
ﬁciency in all
in eonse~
seldier, the competition becoming
onencc a very open one, as men who u re good
at one thing are not PCI‘DGPS EQUZ‘NY ‘50le at
.
others.

We give below a list of winners of the events
Assault-3.5.
at the 8th (Lucknow) Divisional
Ar :11 s, which tool; place at Lucknow, on March

ﬁnd, and the following live (lays.
Dragoons, it is true,

The Royal

are the only

British

Cavzilry regiment in the division, but the con;
test-ants in the mounted events included representatives of several batteries, among

L ndon Gazette, (laud 28th January, 190::
Major Colquhoun, G Morrison from 1st
(Royal) Dragoons to be Lieutenant-Colonel,
halfpay, and to retain his appointment as

D. A. A. G.

to

Brown to

be Regimental

The

letters

of

past ofﬁcers and men

Congratulation

from

of the regiment,

and

from the support we have received from
all ranks of those now serving in India, we

RS. M. Plumb, Boy Wood, Boy Greenwoo
d
and Boy Southwmd.
’

are entitled to believe thatour paper is gener»
ally appreciated, and that it has fulﬁlled the

object of its original institution, namely,
“to bring into closer touch past ofﬁcers
and men with those now serving with the

SUBSCRIPTICR RECEIVED.
Hoiiic.

regiment,

who are striving

to

carry

on

its glorious traditions, and 'to maintain the
high tone for which it has ever been
guishe( .”

Scrgt. Morgan
I’to Fordham

(listin-

EDITORIAf—NOTICES.
ALI. communications intemlcilfor publication in The Ed 1,;
_
to the li‘d'itor, and should be accompanied ”
should . he addressed

by
ihc writer 5 name and addr
.
The Editor will not iind take to be responsible for any l‘OjecL»
crl MS. nor to return any contribution unless specially
desired to
do 50. Accepted 11
Will he paid for at the rate of Rs. 10 per
1.000

.112 ILut'll saber/“inﬂow pro i‘iLLtl.
ADVERTISEMENTS
For six months. full page
For six months. half page

:

Royals,” while

averages 300 copies.

our

Irwin and 2nd-Lieut. G. Cosens have gone to
England. Captain W. D Grant and 2nd-Lieut.
C. W. Turner have gone to Southern India for
shooting, while several others propose to go

on leave this month.

I‘

The Regiment sent up four representatives
to the Kadir this yeareMajor Hon. A. Hamil—
ton Russell, Capt. Lambert, Mr. Sandbach
and Mr, Miles. Major Russell on
“ Bay
Middleton," Mr. Sandbach on “Wallace, "
and Mr. Miles on “Bobs,” all won their first
heats.
In the second round Major Russell and Mr.
Sandbach each speared tirst in their respec~
tive heats, but both

were

unlucky, as

they

could neither show blood.
Captain Lambert, Mr. Sandbach and Mr.
Miles allcompeted in the Hoghunters’ Cup,
but were not placed.
In the Pony Hoghunters’, Mr. Sandbach
was second on “Double Keys, " out of a ﬁeld
of twelve.
It is not often that we have to congratulate
our G. R’s on successes in England, but last
mail brings us an account of a line performance by Captain Godman :it Lingﬁeld

monthly issue

Steeplechases. On March 18th, Capt. Godman

Though at ﬁrst we had

won the Gentlemen Riders’ Steeplechase on
his owu horse “ Kenilworth, ’7 from a ﬁeld of
three. starting at the long price of ‘3": to 1
against. The Daily Mail. describes it as the
most sensational race of the week.

to contend with some ﬁnancial difﬁculties, The
Ill/191.5 is now self-supporting. At the same
time we would like to have a. larger circulation in order to be in a position to reduce the
amount of subscriptions.

The drill season closed with the general

.

For six months. quarter page ..
For one month. full page
For one in nth. hilt page

We wish to (jail the attention of our readers
to the fact that The Eng/m:

No. at

Captain Lord C. FitzMaurice, Lieut. T. S.

MONTHLY NOTES.

this month we commemorate our first anni.
versary of the institution of this monthly
chronicle of the Royal Dragoons. From the

Pte Ogley joined 10th March, 1008.
Servi'ci‘s.
No 5697, Sergt Tabuteau perm
itted
remain in the service beyond 21 years.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15TH, 1908.

II.

ﬁrst number was printed in April, 1907, and

Drafts.

REGIMENTAL GAZETTE.

(the Iagle.

Major E FitzC. M. Wood, D. S.
0.,

15th
pgriéﬁgiiélgd, to lotli October, 1008,
proceeding

Since the publication of our last number,

. .

several

Ofﬁcers

inspections described in our last issue, and

have proeeeded on leave.

we are now devoting our time to individual

Major E. Wood. D. S. 0., Captain D. McNeil,

training and detached duties. An interesting

For one much. quarter page

(30

T HE

EAGLE

T H E

account of a long-distance patrol. which left

about

Lucknow for a march of 260 miles, will be
found in thisissue.

ness, We are gradually recovering our equilibrium, and have been quite satisfied with one
sand-storm for this year : however, Lucknow
has the proud distinction of being the only
place where rain has not fallen.

On page 65 we give the account of a
successful pig-sticking meet in Kheri. Three

ten

minutes

we were in total dark-

oﬁicers of the regiment took part in this expedition—Colonel de Lisle, Capt. Lambert and
Lieut. Sandbach. The sport enjoyed
to have been exceptional for that
country, and we hear rumours of
meet shortly to take place in the same

appears
diﬁicult
another
district.

We ﬁnd ourselves obliged to pay respect to
the Sun, and stayin our bungalows during the
heat of the day, nevertheless the inclemency
of the weather has not daunted the spirits
of

After many orders and Counter-orders as
to the destination of our Hill detachment, it

has been ﬁnally settled that our party of two
oﬁicers and a hundred men are to go into

camp at Manora. 8 miles this side of Naini
Tal.
NainiTal itself is this year reserved as a
eonvalescent deprit for enter-ic- patients.
The change in the weather which is always
expected and prepared for at this time of

year is upon us earlier than we expected.
Before the punkahs were on the swing, the

hot winds had commenced and the sandy
dust which invariably accompanies
them
makes things rather uncomfortable, especially
when retiring to rest. one ﬁnds one's self in a
sandbath, owing to the forgetfulness of your

bearer to shake the bed out.
The maximum temperature in the shade
has been 109°, which we found was quite
sufﬁcient authority for the use of punkahs and
thermantidotes.

Many are looking forward to taking leave
in England. and furloughs to the hills. To
those who have already gone to seek cooler

regions, we extend our heartiest wishes that
they may enjoy their leave and return much

beneﬁted.
On Sunday evening, April 12th. when
most of us were enjoying the evening air,
aterriﬁc sand-storm came upon us, and for

the

sportsmen.

The

squadron

football

teams have been playing regularly in the evenings, and the Hockey ground is not by any
means deserted.
Several cricket matches have been played,
which have afforded welcome changes to the
somewhat monotonous Thursdays.
“ Shirts' sleeves and dust ” is the order at
Riding-School in the early morning, and for
the remainder of the day we are clad as lightly
as possible.

The Corporals of the 38rd Duke of Welling.
ton's West Riding Regiment entertained the
Corporals of the Royal Dragoons at Sitapur
on the lst and 2nd of April.

Owing, either to the fact that it was the ﬁrst
of the month and the train service had been

altered, or to some misunderstanding,
members of our Corporals’ Mess were
to leave for Sitapur until the evening,
was a disappointment for both parties,
theleSs they had the most enjoyable

the

unable
which
neverouting

they have had since they came to India.
A smoking concert had been arranged for
the evening of the let and a successful programme was gone through. The following
morning two teams of 8 each had an exciting
shooting match which ended inavictory for
the hosts. The way in which the Duke of
Wellington’s regiment treated their guests
was most hospitable, and it is the wish Of

both regiments that the good feeling which
already exists may be fostered.

The Rev. J. H. Bateson, General Secretary
01? the R. A. T. A. in India, paid his annual visit
to the Regiment on the 24th April. A concert
was given in the evening by the “Amateur
Dramatic Club" of the Royal Dragoons, when
a successful programme was performed. In
the interval the medals were very kindly
presented, to those entitled to them, by
Mrs. de Lisle.

A series of interesting lectures has been
given at the Mahonied Bagh Club during the
The first subject CllOS('11 was
past month.
“ Sanitationin the .l‘i‘iold ’ by Capt. Mackenzie,
R. A. M. 0., in which he pointed out the causes
of contraction of common diseases to which
an army on the field is exposed. He dealt
brielly with entoric, cholera, and dysentery,
and gave a short sketch of the history of each,
showing how little progress has been made
since Biblical times.
The nextlecture on “ Bush-lighting in East
and Central Africa” was given by Major
Osborne, D. S. 0., Oxfordshire Light infantry,
who is. an authority on this subject, having
been employed, for the last ten years, by the
Colonial Office at this work. He told us how it
was that Uganda became a British possession
instead of a German colony, and dwelt on the
stratogic ii'nportancc of controlling the water»
supply of the Nile.
The next was a most interesting lecture on
“ Cavalry” by Col. de Lisle, 0.15., D. S. 0. lie
dealt chiefly with the advantages of “ lire aciion " before “collision,”and of artillery com>

bined with cavalry in the “attack.” Hodiscussed the relative advantages and disadvan
times of the llank and central positions for the
m
"runs. Next he dwelt on the excellent syste
in
vogue
in
is
which
ts,
romoun
ng
31‘ traini
Germany, by which the greatest powers of en»
durance and Weightcarrying can be develop
od, which are the two chief essentials of a
cavalry horse.
The last lecture was given by Capt. Scaley.
R. F. A , the subject being " Quick-ﬁring
of
Guns.” He piinted out the use made

E A G L E

i31

artillery by the Russians and Japanese in the
late war, particularly noticing the employ"
ment of massed and single batteries.
Polo in Lucknow, for the last month, has
really been no pleasure, either to player or
spectator, owing to the very dusty state of
the grounds. It can only be looked upon as
aforin of exercise, which is so essential in.
this country. Without rain these polo grounds
can never be really good or able to withstand the severe use to 'which they are put, as

our \vateringarrangements are very poor.
handicap tournament was arranged about a
month ago in which 8 teams entered, composed
of officers of the station. The regiment could
only put in one team, owing to most (if the
ofﬁcers being away pig-sticking or playing in
the Subalterns’ Tournament. The tournament

was not well-arranged, the duration of play
was four chukkers of 7.1.- minutes each and 3
minutes’ interval at half-time. it was necessary forsome teams to score as many as 2)
goals before they were eligible to count any
winning points, this was practically an impossible task in a l-chukker match. This
tournament was eventually won by

Punjabis.

the 234th

There is a scheme afoo: for water-

ing our tournament ground by which we hope

to be able to provide a ﬁrst class polo ground
in spite of the vagariOus Indian climate.
Captain McKenzie, R. A. M. C., has taken

the memorial erected to the late Queen
Victoria.
The ceremony was most impressive and
was performed by the Lieutenant-Governor
Sir John Hewett.
When the drapings fell from the statue, a
royal salute of twcnty~one guns was tired and

.. ...-—.H»..~;‘-i

or)
,n

THE

EAGLE
THE

the Rand of the Oxford Light Infantry. who
were furnishing the Guard-ofHonour, played
the “National Anthem."
The Marble Statue is the work of Mr.
Hamo Thornycroft, R. A, and bears the
following inscription in English, Nagri and
Urdu :—
;. TO

The beloved memory of Queen Victoria,
of Great Britain and Ireland, and Ema
press of India, who ascended the
throne on the 24th May, 1837,
and died on the 22nd
January, 1901."
This statue was erected by her loyal subjects, the inhabitants of Oudh, in humble and
grateful commemoration of her pure and
spotless life, and of her deep and earnest

affection for her Indian people.
Amongst those

of the regiment present

were Colonel and Mrs. de Lisle, Major and
Mrs. Makins, Major and Mrs. Steele, Major
The Hon’ble and Mrs. Hamilton Russell.

The Sergeants’ Mess are fortunate in having
an excellent photograph of those present at
the 01d Comrades” Dinner in London, which
was kindly sent from home by Colonel Mac-

Lean, late Colonel of The Royal Dragoons,
On Thursday morning, April 9th,
the
regiment paraded under Colonel de Lisle for

inspection by the Commander—inChief, Lord
Kitchener. The inspection took a very short
time, which was a very lucky thing, as Thurs.
day was one of the hottest day we have had
this year. After ranking past by sections
we returned to barracks, while the officers
were presented to Lord Kitchener. This is

probably the last time we

shall have the

honour of being inspected by our present
Commander-in-Chief as he is shortly to vacate
the Command of the Army in India.
In the evening, the massed bands of the

Garrison. conducted

by Bandmaster Holt,

The Royal Dragoons, played during the
dinner given to Lord Kitchener at Mahorn med
Bagh Club.
The detachment left Lucknow on the 13th
instant. As none of us know Manora, we hope
for an interesting article from one of the
detachments when they arrive.
The Band left last Tuesday,

when, in the course

of a severe contest, the

ch, for Naini

Tal, where they are engaged for the season.

HISTORICAL

in clouds andformed a sparkling dome over
the opposing hosts, the Archduke Charles
and his suite galloped along the line, his
presenccinfusing a glowing ardour among
the troops. About mid-day Lieutenant-General Stanhope led the Royal Dragoons and other
British Horse against their adversaries,

RECORD

Of the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, containing an account of its formation in the reign of

King Charles the Second, and of its subsequent services to the present time.
By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(Uonlinmd)
The result of this brilliant action of cavalry
disconcerted the projects of Philip, who, calling in his detachments. retired : the allies
following up the pursuit for many days and
making themselves masters of several towns
in Aragon, until, 011 the 18th of August, the
Royal Dragoons overtaking the rear-guard, in
the Pass of Penalva, a sharp skirmish ensued,

in which LieutenantColonel Colberg, who commanded the regiment, was wounded and taken
prisoner.
Continuing the pursuit, the Royal Dragoons
crossed the Ebro with the leading column
under Major-General Carpenter ; and on the
evening of the 19th of August, the French and

Spanish forces appeared in order of battle to
the right of. Saragossa, a large and rich city

lying on the river Ebro, in a tine country.
Preparations were immediately made for an
attack on the following day, the Royals forming part of the cavalry of the left wing commanded by Lieutenant-General Stan hope, and

opposed to the right of the enemy

posted on

the brow of a steep hill.
Early on the morning of the 20th of August
a heavy cannonade commenced : and as the
mountains re-echoed the sound. while the
smoke, tinged with the rays of tho sun, rose

superior numbers of the French had the advantage; but Stanhope's second line of cavalry repulsed the enemy : and the British
Dragoons rallying and returning to the charge,
a sanguinary conflict took place at the foot of
the hill. Six squadrons of Portuguese Dray
goons on the extreme left tied without waiting
for the attack of the troops advancing against

them. The battle extended along the front
to the banks of the Ebro, and the Imperial,
Dutch, and Palatine troops vied with the
British in feats of gallantry. The Royals
Pepper's (now 8th R. I. Hussars) and Stanhope‘s Dragoons gained some advantage
Harvey's Horse also signalised themselves :
and four English battalions commanded by

EAGLE

63

consequence. The Duke of Anjou called to
his aid troops from Estramadura : reinforcements reached him from France, the Castilian peasantry took arms in his behalf, and

once more the allies were forced to retire.
On the 11th of November the Archduke
Charles withdrew from the army, taking
with him the Royal Regiment of Dragoons
and Starem berg‘s imperialists, and proceeded to CienpozneIOs, and thence to Barcelona,
escorted by two squadrons of the Royals.
The third squadron remained with the army.
and during the retreat it formed part of the
rear column commanded by Lieutenant-General Stanhope, which retrograde movement
was performed under great difﬁculties,
owing to the hostility of the Castilians, inclement weather, and a scarcity of forage and
provismns. On the 6th of December this
column arrived at Brihuega, a town of about

one thousand houses, si tuated in the mountains
of Castile, near the river Tajuna, where it halted the following day, and while here the place

was suddenly surrounded by the French and

the

Spanish forces under the Due de Vendome,

cavalry of the left Wing, behaved with re»
markable heroism and intrepidity. Throwing off their knapsacks, they sprang up the
acclivity and attacked their opponents sword
in hand. Finally, the enemy were driven
from the ﬁeld with prodigious slaughter and
the loss of 6,000 prisoners, twenty~two pieces

the newly—appointed
commander-inchief.
The British, though without artillery, with
very little ammunition, and invested by a.
force of more than ten times their own number, made a vigorous defence : but the enemy
forced the gates, battered down part of the
walls, and, after two unsuccessful attempts to

MajorGeneral Wade, being mixed with

of

and

storm the town, the British were eventually

colours, the ammunition, baggage, and the
plate of Philip : and, to complete the tale, the
city of Saragossa with its stores, ammunition,
provisions and clothing became the prize of the
victors in this memorable engagement. The
Royal Dragoons passed the night in the ﬁelds
near the city, and were thanked by Charles for
their distinguished gallantry.
After the victory the allies again advanced

artillery,

seventy-two

compelled to surrender, and to the number of
more than 2,000 men became prisoners of
war.
The English troops thus made priSoners at
Brihuega on the 9th of December, 1710. were
as follows :-

to Madrid, where

standards

Charles made

his

public

entry on the 28th of September, but the army
0f Portugal not moving to support this Operation, the most disastrous results were the

the“ War of Succession" in Spain, throughout
whose long and trying campaigns the Royal

Regiment- of Dragoons had never failed sig~
nally and universally to uphold the reputation
of the British cavalry.

The ofﬁcers and men of the Royal Dragoons.
taken at Brihuega, were sent to France, and
after

being

exchanged,

were

removed

to

England and subsequently to Scotland. The.
remainder of the regiment continued to serve
in Spain under the Duke of Argyll.

in 1711. the Emperor Jcseph died, the
Archduke Charles left Spain for Germany,
where he was elected Emperor of the Romans,

blankets on the outside of their tents as a
further protection against the rays of the
sun, and were trying to sleep in spite of the
heat and

quietly,

flies

The

with

their

horses

heads

were standing

down.

About

3-30l‘.1\1. we noticed their heads were up, eyes
and ears directed. towards the. berg ;looking
in that direction we observed huge clouds of
dust at the foot of the mountains, about six
miles distant, and, in less time than it
takes to write—certainly before we realised
what we were about to receive~a sudden,
violent blast struck the camp, carrying away
nearly everything movable.
Clicked and
blinded with sand and dust, we hung on to the
tents, which were struggling like wild horses
to be free; darkness fell over the land,
thunder rolled above the noise of the gale,
and vivid ﬂashes of purple lightning lit up
the country and left red streaks in front of
our eyes, faster and faster came the discharg

well nigh drowned the thunder, inside the
tents it resembled a Scotch mist mixed with
water-spouts. We huddled up our kits and
sat on them to keep them as dry as possible.
A thin trickle of water appeared under the

ageneralpaciiication of Europe was arrived
at by the Peace of Utrecht, on the 11th of
April, 1713.

in the. summer of 1712 the officers and men
of the Royal

Dragoons

having sold the Spanish

and

curtain, rapidly grew into a stream and flood-

horses upon which

ed us out.
Now and then yells of laughter came
from under a collapsed tent, the tightened
ropes and canvas having d rawn the pegs. At

30th April, 1in ‘.
DEAR M,
On the 3rd instant. at Sunday River Camp,
we had a typical South African thunderstorm.
It had been a scorching hot day, not a breath
”f air stirring ; the men had spread their

ing on the
over for the
There are
tion worked

skyline; the performance was
day, and we were very wet.
collieries near llllatndslaagte sta»
by Hindu coolies. Passing early

EAGLE

seemed strangely out of place in the vicinity
of a coal mine, bits of Lancashire and the
Orient dumped on the African veldt, truly a
strange mixture.
We arrived at Ladysmith from. Sunday
River Camp on the 8th instant, and camped
west of the town with outposts facing Van
Reenans Pass. The Boers attacked the camp
at Sunday River two days after we left : we
turned out and moved rapidly to Modder
Spruit about seven miles from Elandslaagte,
where we halted, and the enemy having been
driven back, we returned to Ladysmith at
night.
Went with squadron to Blanbank on
outpost duty about the 15th instant, and
camped about fourteen miles in front of the
troops at Ladysmith and twenty-one "from the
Boers at Van Reenans Pass, our advanced
post being five miles in front and Ladysmith
and Van Reenans main road and consisted of
a sergeant and six men. At night this postwas withdrawn to a position two miles nearer
camp.
A party of thirty Boers came up to the
former post one morning, but retired on
being ﬁred on.
One evening native scouts came in with information that the Boers were coming down
to attack us. It was avery windy night- : camp
was struck, baggage sent back towards Lady—
smith, and a position taken up. I left camp
at5 RM. with six men and proceeded to the
advanced post three miles to the front. A
guide with two native scouts came in to my
postat 8 P. M. and reported the Boers” moving.
The night passed to early morning, but nothing was seen, and nothing heard, except the
hundred and one sounds of the African night
insects, night—birds, frogs, etc , which puzzle

the sentry depending on his ears, until he
Night work

in the morning rm; I‘Uule to Jonopskop on out-

becomes accustomed to them.

post duty, we often saw the miners with
safety lamps waiting to descend, the native
quarters were quite picturesque, but the
brilliant colours of the women's costumes

is more trying to the nerves than operations
in the daylight, hidden dangers are magniﬁed
judging from the
by imagination, but
the sentries) the
(except
men
snores of my

65

average British soldier is not worried by
either nerves or imagination. The whole post
was on the alert from 3 A.M. to daybreak, but
the Boers did not come, or possibly this would
not have been written. After a week we were
relieved by another squadron and came back
here where the headquarters of the regiment
are stationed together with the 5th Dragoon
Guards and 18th Hussars: these regiments
also have squadrons on the outpost line. We
can enjoy here the luxury of a swim in the
Klip river, and also get some fine fruit, u. wel-

come addition to our menu ; today I bought a
bunch of bananas, six oranges and two pine—

apples for half-a-crown from a Dutch farmer ;
eggs are four shillings a dozen. It is rumoured that the next advance will be to the
Orange Free State riri Van Reenans Pass.
also that the Royals and Household Cavalry
are ﬁrst for home—«when the show is over !
Yours,

OL-OL.

PIG-STICKIE IN KHERI.
On the 13th of March a party of five spears
got off the train at a smalljungle station called
Palia, just north of the Sarda river. This
party was there joined by two riﬂes and were
the guests of Mr. C. S. Faunthorpe, 1.0.8..

Deputy Commissioner of the Kheri District.
Our host, who enjoys the reputation of excelling in band-o-bast, as well as in all kinds of
sport. had made every possible arrangement
for our comfort, and shortly after our arrival

twelve elephants stalked into our grove, marshalled by the Shikari Surjoo, who informed
us it was time to commence business. Our
first day‘s sport was most encouraging, and
consisted of six pig and a good Good stag.
speared by Faunthorpe. The remainder of
the bag was fairly evenly distributed between
the Colonel, Lambert and Sandhach. The
following day. while our camp was moving
by road to Turcolia, the driving line swept

along from the railway, with its left on the
Sarda river. The result of the day's sport

(36

'l‘ H E

showed one panther,which fell to Faunthorpe’s
riﬂe and three pig. One of these, a very
heavy boar, with exceptionally ﬁne tushes, fell
to Colonel de Lisle and took half an hour to
kill, owing to the difficult ground.

We continued our
camp and of driving

ﬂank on the river.

E A H L E
after a most comfortable and enjoyable meet.
the best of sport and pleasant companionship.

LONG-DISTANCE PATROL.

plan of sending on the

Since I have been asked by a number of my

upstream with our left.

comrades for an account of the “ scouts’ longdistance patrol ” which lasted from 15th
March to 38rd March, 1908, l endeavour to
give the experiences in a few lines.

This plan was most suc-

cessful, and Sunday, Ihelﬁth of March, produced excellent sport. On the evening of that
day, the camp at Narosa saw three pig, one

stag. and three panther, laid out under the
trees. The Colonel who was riding an elephant

The patrol.con sisting of two oliicers and nine
scouts, left Lucknow Barracks at 6450 A.M.
on Friday, 15th March, 19%, for Palia Kalan,

One of the pig, a ﬁne boar,

about 180 miles. We had no transport to accompany us, so we had to carry our kit and
rations, besides the gear and corn needed
for the horses, on pack-horses.
There were
several ideas as to the best way of carrying
the things, and 1 can safely say that if we
learned nothing else, we found out the best
way to pack the saddles.
Some had " gunny” bags (made from corn.
sacks) slung over the saddle, but these burst
when about two miles on the road, as the sacking used in this country is not as strong as
that used in England or America. where I
believe the idea originated.
Personally, I think, the best way to pack a
saddle was as follows :——Instead of carrying a

fell to Hearsey, on whose property we were

numnah ; one horse blanket and one bed blank.

that day had all the luck with the riﬂe, bagging a very good stag of 35 inches and all three

panther.

Two of these panther were very

heavy ones, which had succeeded in evading

many sportsmen for several years.
Halting one day at Narosa we beat up to the
borders of Pilibhit, but had a poor day of only
two pig, owing to the fact that the Deputy Commissioner of. that district, according to local
reports, had been amusing himself shooting

pig from elephants
Returning the following day to Palia, along
our former tracks, we picked up ﬁve pig and
one stag, the latter being again ridden down
by Faunthorpe.

hunting.

Though riding small pinies against our
horses, this well-known sportsman is well
able to compete with the best both with riﬂe
and spear.
The result of our five days’ hunt amounted
to four panther, three stag and nineteen pig,
most of which were very ﬁne boar which
live in most difﬁcult country and can only
be driven out by a. strong line of elephants
The success of this meet, which exceeds that
of all previous occasions, was entirely due
to the excellent arrangements made by Faunthorpe, though perhaps the dry state of many
of the depressions and nullahs was all in

favour of the horse and against the pig.

We

returned to Lucknow on the night of the 17th,

et folded under the saddle was found sufficient and less likely to cause a sore-back,
Anumnah is very often neglected on the
march, but the blankets being used every
night had to be shaken and folded in the morn—
ing, so they were sure to be clean and soft.
An ordinary sea-kit bag carrying from 20 to
30 lbs of corn. and strapped over the front of
the saddle, was found to be the best way of

'1‘ H E
As the road ran parallel to the railway for
the best part of the way, we were able, by the
kindness of our officers, to send by rail a
box containing other kit and delicacies to
our next camping ground.
-I will not weary the readers with too many
We averaged about
details of the march.
about 6 VA.1\I.,
starting
day,
a
miles
thirty-five
halting mid-day from 11 til13 P.M., and camp—
ing about? P.M., so we were pretty well on

the go all day.

The rate of march was six

miles an hour, trotting two, and leading
one.
Of course we found it warm work at times
and our tempers were fully tried. We reached

Sitapur about 10-30 A.M. the following day,

67

one could geta goat, sheep or pig from any
village for a few annas. l was myself offered
a good-sized young pig for one rupee, and
we met a shooting party who lived on goat’s
flesh, when other food was nnobtainable.
Atta (native flour) was bought by some of
the party as an experiment, to see which was
better for making chuppaties, that or English
flour. A satisfactory conclusion was never
arrived atgsome dogs eating the lot while we

slept.

.

On the third day, we entered Lakhimpur
district, it was here we left the railway, which
bends in a semi-circle, to strike across country

to Palia, as by so doing we cut off a good
number of miles.

where we were hospitably entertained by the
West Riding Regiment.
We pushed off again at «l P.M., after loading
up with corn from the Supply and Transport
DepOt there.
As we had twenty-four horses with us,
and they were each getting 10 lbs. of food
daily, we found that we could not carry more

large famine relief camps we passed on the
road ; thousands of natives, mostly women and
children, wereemployed at road-making, their
ages appeared to range from about one month
to 70 years. We saw some little children lying
under the trees who were so covered from

than one day’s feed (240 lbs), consequently we

them at all, and any amount of cases of the

had to rely on getting our corn from the
villages at which we halted.
A wire was often sent to the Police Post

basket of mutti on her head.

we made a. mistake in giving one of them some

at the next halting-place and they would do

pice.

their best to procure grass and corn for our

a very short time we were surrounded by a
crowd of beggars of every description. We
shouted, B/Lagjcio (run away with fear). but
they did not seem the least bit afraid and

horses.

Several of our party had guns for

the purpose of shooting something for the
pot, but we saw nothing until the fourth day.
One must not run away with the idea that

The chief thing we noticed this day was the

head to foot with flies, that it was hard to see

mother carrying her Child on her hip and a
When we halted,

The news spread like wildfire. and in

begged all the harder.

Personally I

Leaving Lakhimpur we trekked across open.

think it would have been possible for a small

country with young Corn growing on either

patrol like ours to have travelled, without
packs, living entirely on the country.
Al-

hand as far as the eye could see, and as we had
not made up our minds to haltfor the ni ht at
any particular place, we kept going until
1 P M
We camped in the Open, drawing the water
for our horses from the well close at hand.
I may mention that with the exception of

we should have

fared

badly.

carrying the spare corn. while the feeds for

though we saw nothing to shoot, it does not

the day could be carried in the nose-bags.
As regards the men's rations, a kit bag,

prove that there was nothing in the way of
game in those districts.
1 account for its
absence by the fact that it was the wrong time

(“suleetahs" I believe they are called,) strappod on the seat of the saddle, carried all the
provisions, etc, required. Of course the horse
carrying the rations would not carry as much
corn as the others.

EAGLE

of day for game to be about, too near the road
a

and railway, and men too weary at nights,
.after their long ride, to look for it
Apart from this if nothing was to be found,

pool of

water found at Hargaon all the

watering had to be done in nose-bags, drawing
the water requrred from wells—a lengthy
process in the dark.

.. ...._.......V.~..a.o~.‘..

as

T 11 E

We moved off at 5A.M. on the fourth day,
and only had to go some twentyﬁve miles to
reach our destination, but we had a big river
in front of us called the Sarda, which had to
be crossed. We had been told that a party of

officers had been shooting crocodile in this
river, so we were not tempted to swim it.
The only serviceable boat available, would
Only hold five horses and saddles, so itineant
ﬁve journeys, which took about three hours.

The 1’!( rses were rather nervous as the
deck was ﬂush with the sides of the boat and
very low in the water: they tried reiniug back
from one side and very nearly went over the
other. It would not have mattered much if
they had, except the trouble of catching them

again, as we had removed their packs in case
of accidents. Anyhow, we got safely across
and struck a very rough road through some.

of the prettiest, and best shooting country
we had seen, it- reminded us of England.
Close to the road could be seen herds of
Buck and Nilghai contentodly grazing, but we

did not a 7 much attention to them as we
wished to reach Palia before dark.

The gclng was very bad, and it was about
7 RN. before we reached camp.
The C done-land a party of officers were pigsticking and shooting in this district, and we
were to ﬁnd them and report, but the stationmaste: informed us that the party were ex‘
pected If. on the following day. so we had no
difﬁcult; in finding them.
As we had now three days‘ rest before us

we moved our camp intoa bagh which was
more 531a '7 than the open groundon which

we had ”amped the previous night.
Whnr. Loving camp, one of the horses broke
away, 11-21 as the girths had been loosened.
the stride slipped round, frightening the
horse :
causing him to run away. He

E A G L E
until he reached the river, twenty miles
away, which proved to be correct.
Two men were sent out to lind the runaway,
taking their rations with them, fortunately the
horse’s tracks could be seen distinctly and
they returned the following night with the
horse which they had found quietly grazing by
the bank of the river. The horse seemed
quite pleased to see the men, so they had no
difﬁculty in catching him.
While this was going on, the party in camp
had had an exciting time. The Colonel took

them out shooting on elephants and to watch
the pig—sticking. We had a varied pet that
night: we dined ot‘f pig, bare, and deer, not a
bad change in our menu from “Bully Beef."
The third rest day, our seventh out from
Lucknow, another shooting party went out,
this time we hoped for leopard.
We went through, what appeared to us, one
impassable mass of trees and undergrowth,
and 1 had all my work cut out to keep myself
from being swept off the back of the elephant.
One does not realize the strength of these
animals until you are lucky enough to experi,
ence a ride on one through the jungle watch-

ing him clearing a path with his trunk and
breaking down trees of considerable size.
While riding along I noticed a formidable
weapon in the shape of a bludgeon with three
or four French nails stuck in it, attached to
the back of the pad. On my enquiringits use,
I was informed that it was used on the
elephants "’ croup," when full speed was
ordered.
1 determined to try it. as my
mount was lagging, somewhat, behind the
others. 1 was sorry for it, for although it did
not induce him to trot, he walked out, and the
motion cannot be described, the Bay of Biscay
wasn‘t in it.
I had to hang on for dear life,
and could not decide whether it was better
to sit up or lie down.

’l‘ H E
being available, we were able to get across
quicker than we did the first time. We passed through large forests of saplings where
the Rohllkund and Kumaon Railway get their
fuel from (i may mention that wood is the
only fuel that appears to be used on this
railway).
Nothing of note occurred till we. reached
(Viola;here one of the scouts was employed
chasing dogs: they had run away with nosebags, havresacks, and even mess-tins, which
held chuppnlties. They were evidently starv-

ing, as we should have been in the morning,
but for the \vakel’ul scout who was the ﬁrst
to notice his havresack disappearing over a
low wall.
We had not had an accident of any account
so far, but at Hargaon one of our horses fell
ona peg in the night and badly staked himself, which necessitated him being sent into
Lucknow by rail. We reached Sitapur on the
22nd, where again we were the guests of the
West Ridings, and here we came on bread

rations again, which was a welcome change
from cltuppatties. This was our tenth day
out.
We started off on the morning of the 23rd
at the usual hour, 6 A.M.

This was our long-

est day’s trek, we were about 42 miles from

l‘] A G L E

019

brief history should be placed on record.
Indeed, had the record of this remarkable
dog, from the time she made her first appear
:ane in the Royals, bee l faithfully kept, her
history would have been such as to entitle her
t” ﬁgure in the very front rank of animal
wonders.
“ Scout," according to the many regimental
dog-fanciers, was an Irish terrier ; whether
she was well-bred, I do not pretend to know.
but this every one knew, that for stamina and
pluck she was the equal of any dog breathing.
The manner of her enlistment was as follows :74On the 26th November, 1899, the regiment
arrived at Durban, Port Natal, on the S. S.
~‘ Manchester Port," to take part in the Boer
war
It being toolate in the day to disembark, the baggage only was put ashore, and
a party of men told off to look after it. From

what I can gather, it was to this party that
“ Scout," then little more than a puppy, ﬁrst
introduced herself, and made friends with the
men. On the following morning the regiment
disembarked, and entrained at the dock
siding for Pietermaritzberg. Our little dog
did not relish being parted from her new
friends so abruptly, and, boarding the train,
she made her ﬁrst journey with her regiment.

barracks. We reached barracks about 7-80
RM , after eleven days of the happiest and
most enjoyable part of a soldier’s life in lndia.
The Colonel spoke very well of the fitness

ed on the race course for a week, prior to
proceeding up-country, and here it was that

of

after their long

her most appropriate name from her habit of

journey, and promised that it should not be
the last of such outings. to which every
scout answered in his mind with “ Roll on the
next."
.
FLEL‘R no Lvs.

accompanying the troops to exercise, and to
water, WlJC‘i she would keep some twenty
yards ahead of the leading horseman, and
make furious onslaughts on every living
creature thatcame in her way, from a bulloek

both

men and horses,

At Pietermaritzberg the Royals were encamp-

the dog came into prominence, and earned

to a. butterﬂy!

“SCOUT”
In illnnorz‘am.

was fully-med by one of the scouts, who re-

We started back to Lucknow the following

Those who remember the regimental dog

turned with the broken saddle which he had
found tinee miles down the road.
Wesurmi... 1 that the runaway would not stop

morning (the 8th).
This time our road lay
alongside the railway all the way. we crossed the river higher up and a larger boat

whose name recalls a hundred and one incidents of the late South African war, will
surely agree that it is but ﬁtting that her

By the time the regiment reached Frere.
the base of the Colenso operations. "Scout ”
had become quite a Royal Dragoon. and had

ﬁrmly established herself a favourite with all
ranks.

She accompanied all patrols, 01' other

parties moving out of camp, and was invari—

. _ ,...-_~H.-...,_‘r_‘v,_

TIIE

EAIiLE

TEIE

ably on parade with the ﬁrst one, whatever
the time of day or night. She experienced
her baptismal tire on the 15th December at

every weary step ; she disdained the offer of a

the now famous battle of Colenso, and evidently divining the state of affairs, assisted
in the only manner possible, by barking
at the Boer Long Tom gun across the river 1
She was present at Spion Kop, twice crossing the swollen, rushing Tugela, the second
occasion nearly ending in her death. The
current being very powerful, a dozen or so
strong swimmers stripped, and entered the

to chase a ﬂock of sheep.

water to assist any horse

to grief.

or man coming

"' Scout," however, plunged bold-

ly in some little distance down stream, and
after swimming vigorously in the direction

of the opposite bank for some few minutes,
was evidently astonished to find she was
making no headway, but was being slowly,
but surely, carried down stream.
Fortunately a clump of tall rushes. arrested

her progress to certain death on the rocks
below, and the writer being in ‘he water con.
trived to reach her and carry her ashore.
She took partin the storming of the Tugela
Heights, and. led the way over Pieters Hill,
eventually forming part of the procession of
the relieving force through Ladysmith. After
a few weeks“ stay here with visits to Blaubank
and Sundays River, came the advance on,

and occupation of Newcastle.

It was about

this time that “ Scout " presented her friends
with a iitt r of. various, and wonderfuliooking puppies, but even this important
event shedid not allow to interfere with her
military duties, and although she was a good
mother, every. parade found her “present
and correct. "
After some time spent in Newcastle and
its neighbourhood, the regiment commenced
the long, wearisome trek through the East
3m ’l‘ransvaal to Belfast, Krugersdorp,
Pretoria, Springfontein, etc, our little pet-

lift, and scampered along mile after mile, occasionally darting aside to turn up a hare, or

Of the many

stories told of her, a good one is of an incident
which happened not far
from
Senekal.

“Scout "at this time was again exhibiting
signs of approaching maternity. rl‘he regi~

time in quarantine before she rejoined in
Shornclil‘fe.
Of her many peculiarities, perhaps the most
remarkable is that she acknowledged no individual as master ; she was the same to all.
Tonight she would sleep at Brown‘s feet ;
to-morrow she would share Jones’ dinner : the
next day Brown would have the honour of her

ment had bivouacked for the night at Wonder

companionship, and so on,

Kop.

fully proliﬁc, having given birth to certainly
not less than forty assorted specimens of the

At dawn, horses were saddled, out-

posts came in, men shook themselves

(their

only toilet) and the troops moved off. Some
four or ﬁve miles had been covered, when it
was discovered our pet‘ was missing from her
accustomed place in front. After making
inquiries, and ﬁnding she had not been seen
that morning, Colonel Lord Basing, who was
in command, sent back a party to search for
her
When nearing the old camping-ground,
“Scout ”was seen rushing about in a state
of great excitement, and catching sight of the
horsemen, she came out to meet them, led
them back to a small ant-bear hole, and
disclosed to view with very evident maternal
pride, a strange-looking pair of blind and.

Following on this came the big “drives,”
and during these and the night marches
(some of them were record ones 1) our wonder
ful dog was ever to the fore, and how she
managed to last out will never cease to be a
matter for wonder.
When peace was declared she came into
Bloemfontein with her beloved Royals, and
shortly afterwards accompanied them to

Capetown.

Here, owing to some Customs re-

gulation, all were grieved to hear she would not
he allowed to go home with them. However,
Lord Basing arranged matters with an ofﬁcer
who was staying in Capetown, and she came
homelater, being compelled to spend some

EiAGILE

ﬂ

one who witnessed her pluck and endurance,
her faithfulness and affection, will ever forget '

the little dog that ‘fought’ with them for
Queen and King and Country in the greatest
war of modern years.
“DUNEKA.”

She was wonderv

FOOTBALL.

canine tribe.

She evinced a marked antipa-

thy for Kafﬁrs, and would furiously resent

the presence in camp of a strange dog. She
was very clever at catching and bowling over
sheep and pigs, and many men would tell how
she helpzd them to get their dinners.

Barrack life in Shorncliffe did not agree
with her after the long “treks," and she
seemed to welcome the manoiuvres ol' loos
on Salisbury Plains. Here she became very
attached to Lord Basing, who had some
difﬁculty in preventing her from following
him on the ‘column,’ which would. have doubtlessly proved too much for her in her unﬁt
condition.
On the 27th January, 1901, she acc<11i1panied
the regiment to India, where, in the summer

of1905, she died. Her body was disinterred a
day or two after burial and given to a native
taxidermist, who, however, made a hideous
job of it by lengthening her body and present

ing her with straight, sticlrlike legs, snariing

The keen contest amongst the Squadrons
for the “ Quadt Cup,” ended in a victory for
“ B ’7 Squadron. It will be remembered that
this handsome cup was presented in 1905
by Count von Quadt, representative of our
Colonel, [-1. I. M. The German Emperor, in
recognition of our Victory in October of that
year, at the Durand tournament.
The Inter-Squadron tournament was played
under the same rules as last year (League
Principle), the Band and the four Squadron
teams Competing.
We congratulate “ B ” Squadron on their
record victory and excellent play, not having
had a single goal scored against them. In the
ﬁrst match against “ D “ Squadron, the goalkeeper, Pte. Shurmur, played brilliantly in

stopping a penalty.

The defence throughout

the tournament was exceptionally good,
The Band having left Lucknow for Naini Talon
the 14th inst, scratched with “ D "’ Squadron
for the last match. The following show the
position of the teams:
Goals

teeth and Staring. ferocious eyes

And so, in

the possession of Sergeant Scott, she re.
mains. Recently, it was decided to send the
skin, along with a photograph taken just prior
to her death, to some good. English ﬁrm, and
endeavour to obtain a faithful presentment of
our little dog. It is hoped this may prove
successful.
Many changes have taken place in the re.
giment during the past three or four years,
and there are many who did not know our
wonderful pet, but it is safe to say that not.

the weather this month. There have been
reports and. rumours of rain, but souiehowit
never falls in Lucknow. The temperature is
gradually rising every day, and so far the 340th
with a maximum of 1110 has been thehighest.
We can expect nothing except the heat now,
till the monsoons break.

(1%
In View of the numerous requests for bound
A. copies of “ The Eagle," we hope very shortly to
9"\ have copies of Vol. I ready for sale. In order
{N to ensure their receiving copies, will those reIx quiring them inform the

During the last month several ofﬁcers have
left for England or gone up to the hills :--Cnlonel and Mrs. (16 Lisle left for Sinila on the
29th of April, and Mr 'l‘idswell for the Central Provinces on the 15th
Major and Mrs.
Steele have left for England Major Steele and
Mr. Miles are both on three months’ privilege
leave. Capt. iurch has just returned from
Alinora, and, we are glad to say, he is looking

1.

othcers 11nd 111011

Annual SEICA‘C/‘ll/[Ullls pro rutn.
ADVERTISEMENTS

For six months. full page
For six months. liiilt page

“ROYALS’ MEMORIAL FUND.”

Vigl‘gm
Ls, 0.“.
:25. 94' l

I’m! 171/.

T. '1‘imson, E511.
INDIA.

Reveille, a thun-

7711' flu/1'1

HOME.

Major—General Graham

bed before

derstorm broke, and the rain started in large
drops. We all pulled our beds undercover,
but, its usual, it was a false alarm, for the
morning turned out close and muggy.

EDITORIAL NOTICES.

Colonel Lord Basinsr

When we were enjoying our last

ten minutes in

,
Q:
In.
ass-a €<=€<€s§~€€~€x~é< a

SUBSCRIPTIONS RECEIVED.

Sergt.~Iiistriict0r W. Behbington

FRIDAY, MAY 151‘“, 1908.

For six months. quarter page ..
For one month. full page
For i-ue month. half puyc

sport.

T. Timson, Esq.
For one mnnih. uiiiiricr

much better after his attack 01 fever;

l‘ilL’“

Misf

Burch is spending the hot weather at Alinora,
Lieut. and Mrs. Crowley are passing the
summer months :it Naini 'l‘al. We hear from
Capt. Grant and Mr. Turner, that they are
enjoying their shootingr expedition in Southern
India, and that they are having excellent

On page <88 we publish a very interesting
article on the “ Capture of Cetywayo. ” We are
greatly indebted to Major-General Graham
who procured this article from Captain
Aniyatt Burney.

Capt Burney volunteered to go to the Zulu
war with the King's Dragoon Guards. He was
the ii rst, with Alexander of the Greys, to enter
Ceiywayo’s liraal. Amongst other trophies, he
procured Cetywayo’s assegais, which are now
in the possession of the King at Windsor, and

his pillow, which he presented to the Oﬁicers’
Mess. The pillow is a curious Kafﬁr wooden
pillow, with the inscription
“ Cetywayo‘s pillow taken out of his kraal .
on the 28th of August, 1579. Presented by l,
H Amyatt Burney.”
Colonel de Lisle writes to The Eagle
Simla, that though the Mohmand rising is
believed to be wearing itself out, there exists
in official circles some anxiety regarding the
future. All etforts to ascertain the cause of
recent frontier disturbances have met with
no results, and our political agents have been
totally unable to account for the unrest among
the ti ines across our frontier.
The fact that armed Afghan troops have
taken part in the recent fighting, points to
some pulitical scheme on the part of some one
in authority at Kabul This supposition is
strengthened by the fact thatitis so contrary
to the custom of the turbulent trans-frontier
tribes to cause tiny disturbance until their

harvests are cut and store-d.
It is thought by some that Nast-Ullah Khan,
the brother of the Amll‘ and Commander-in
Chief of the Afghan Troops, is organising

76

'r n a

1*] A (1‘ L E

disturbances with the object of causing
trouble between the Amir and the British
Government. If this be so, he has certainly
effected his object, and the Amir will be called
upon to explain how it comes that his troops
are in arms against us.

haps, as the mare on which Sergeant Sutch
performed his ROman riding, vaulting and
jockey acts in the circus. Now she is dead,
and all that remains of her are, the memory
of a faithful friend and the forefeet, which
are in the possession of her master.

With such a situation, it is natural that all
eyes are directed on Kabul, and are awaiting
with interest to see what the development
will be. All may blow over without further
incident, but, on the other hand, it may be necessary to undertake military operations on a
large scale. Our readers will look forward
with interest for the precis of the former
Afghan campaigns which we are printing
next month. In spite of many bright features

We should like to draw the attention of our
readers to the excellent work done by the
Incorporated Soldiers' and
Sailors' Help
Society. This Society is practically dependent on voluntary contributions. The total
number of ex‘soldiers and sailors, dealt with
by them, during the past four years. has been
84,447,01‘ whom employment was found for
19,303. Monetary reliefwsuch as grants,
loans and pensionsiwas given to 36,246 cases,
ata cost of £39,091. The Society‘s workshops, where ex-soldiers and sailors can
learn a trade, employed daily 7'2 disabled men,
while 5,610 were sent, temporarily, to Convalescent Homes. Within the lastthlue years the
Society has given assistance to 115 “Old
Royals." They have found employment for
41.1, helped 16 with money and clothing, sent
one toa Convalescent Home, and helped 58
in various other ways.
Should any of our
readers wish to give a subscription, however
small, it would be greatly appreciated. The
Editor will receive any donation and will
forward them to the Society’s ofﬁce in
London

of the fighting in the two former Afghan
wars, we must admit that that country has
never yet. been conquered by us. Since those
days there has been much improvement in the
armament of the Afghan army, but we hope
that the improvement in the value of the In-

dian army is even more marked.
1 have been asked to write an article on the
second pig-sticking expedition at Palia, but I

have refrained from doing so, as the pig-sticking took place over the same ground as the
ﬁrst expedition.

I should like, however, to

mention a few facts about it. The party consisted of seven spears, and in the four days

they got 18 pig, 3 leopard, and a ghond.

'r nit I E A (H. 1+:
l. The account ofthe career of “,Scout, “ in our
last issue, has awakened memories of another

[regimental pet, whose biography deserves
to be recorded—I“Jemima," the old white
hen. The Editor hopes that his readers will
come forward with accounts of any other real
regimental pet, to continue the series already
begun by the history of " Scout."
We hear from the Band that they have
quite settled down to their new routine, and
[that they are enjoying the pleasures of Naini
Tal. They have up to the present succeeded
.in pleasing the musical critics of Naini. The
Band have played a hockey match with St.
Jeseph’s College, which resulted in a win for
the College by 3 goals to 1. Several members
of the Band have tried their skill at angling,
but as yet they have had, very little success.
We hear also that two of the Royals’ oﬁicers
may be seen daily, in good training, on the
1.
,
lake.

HISTORICAL

the colonelcy was conferred upon Richard,
sequent services to the present time.

Thedeath of Cl (33, on April the 28th. was re—
ceived with deep regret by all ranks of the
regiment. She was a black mare, foaled in
1899, and who joined the regiment in 1905.
From the first, she was seen to he docile
and intelligent, and was easily trained for the

circus, where she distinguished herself. In
the ﬁeld, C. 63 again showed her good points
by clever jumping. She is more famous, per-1

On April 15th, the Regimental Lodge of the
the Wesleyan Soldiers‘ Home. The concert
commenced at 845, in the large hall, which
had been kindly lent by the Rev. J. Reed.

The programme, which was a great success,
lasted till about 11-80, owing to the keen competition for the two best songs of the evening.
The concert was the ﬁrst of a series

which is to be held during the hot weather.
The Lodge meets every Wednesday evening
at 7-30 in the Wesleyan Soldiers“ Home,
where visitors are cordially invited.

Lord Cobham

At this period, Jacobite principles were
By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(()ontin;ne(l.)

“Good ’I‘emplars " held their first concert at

shire for the neighbourhood of London (but
after the arrival of King George I. from
Hanover, they returned to the north, when
a reduction of eighty men was made 'in the
establishment.
By a Royal Warrantyof 3rd of February,
1715, addressed to Colonel William Ker, it
was ordered that two troops of the Royal
Dragoons, three of the Scots Greys, and :ne
newly-raised troop of Dragoons, should be
formed into a regiment and reconstructed as
"Ker’s " Dragoons, Which had been disband<
ed in 1718, retaining its former rank and
standing in the army.
t was at the same
time styled “The Prince of Wales’ Own Royal
Regiment” The two junior troops of the
Royal Dragoons thus transferred, were commanded by Captains Lewis, Dalton and Peter
Renouard, and the regiment thus raised has
become the present 7th or Queen's Own
Hussars.
Colonel the Honourable William Ker, third
son of Robert, third Earl of Roxburgh, died
a Lieutenant-General in the army on the 7th
of January, 1711.
The establishment was thus reduced to
six troops, and on the 13th of June this year

King Charles the Second, and of its sub-

One

of the leOpards was speared by Mr. Faunthorpe-a most daring feat, while Major
Makins speared the ghond.

RECORD

Of the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, containing an account of its formation in the reign of

77

very prevalentin the United Kingdom, and
in September, 1715, the Earl of Mar raised
the standard of rebellion in Scotland, and

In the reign of Queen Anne scarlet was
definitively established as the uniform of the

excited the clans to take arms in favour of

British army.

the Pretender, James Stuart.

After their return to England the regiment
was dispersed in various quarters in Yorkshire, and the establishment was ﬁxed at
twenty-seven officers, six quartermasters
and 3'26 ofﬁcers and men. 1n the summer of
1713 adetachment proceeded to Dover, there
to receive a draft of 200 horses from “ Ker’s ”
Dragoons, that corps being.r ordered to Ire-

Dragoons were immediately ordered to the

land dismounted, and there to be disbanded.

Queen Anne died on the lst of August,
1714, when the Royal Dragoons left York-

The Royal

north, and reaching Edinburgh in the early
purl, of October, they went, under the orders

of Lieutenant‘G-eneral Carpenter, in

pursuit

of the rebels. After several marches and
countermarches, Carpenter arrived at Jud~
burgh on the 30th of October, where, ﬁnding
that a division of the rebel army had marched

in the direction of Carlisle, be instantly
started in pursuit of them. The rebels, however, reached Preston, in Lancashire, without

.. ....a.-...“-...s
.»~w

x

78

THE

EAG L 14)
'1‘ H E

opposition, where also arrived, on Sunday,
the 18th of November, Lieutenant-General
Carpenter, with the Royals. Molesworth's
and Churchill’s Dragoons, two newlyraised
corps, afterwards disbanded, and here they

found the town surrounded by the troops of
Major-General Wills. Some sharp ﬁghting
had already taken place, but before the arrival of the force from Scotland the town had
surrendered. On the same day another division of the rebels under the Earl of Mar was
defeated at Sherilfmuir, near Dumblane, by

the Duke of Argyll. On the 32nd of Decem<
ber, James Stuart landed at Peter-head with
asuite of six ofﬁcers only, and

found his

affairs in a. condition so hopeless, that on the
4th of February, 1716, he embarked with Mar
at Montrose, and returned to France, the

insurrection both in Scotland and England
being completely suppressed.
In the year 1716, regiments were lirstnum-

bered, having hitherto been

distinguished

by the names of their colonels. The Royal
Dragoons, however, were never otherwise

cover the places ceded by him in the treaty of
Utrecht, among other measures contemplated was the placing of the Pretender, James
Stuart, on the British Throne, in order that
the favourable interest of this country might
be thus secured. An expedition was prepared under the Duke of Ormond for a descent

upon the coast of England, but the fleet was
dispersed by a storm. Two ships, however,
having on board the Marquis of Tullibardine
and the Earls Marischal and Sea forth, reached Scotland, where, on the 10th of April,
these landed at Kintail, in Ross-shire, with
about 300 Spaniards, who were joined by
some hundreds of Highlanders. Intelligence
of this event reaching London, orders were
despatched for the Royal Dragoons to proceed
with all possible speed to Scotland, where
they arrived in May. On the 10th of June,
Major-General Wrightman, with a body of

Foot and three troops of the Scots Greys, at
tacked the Spaniards and tho Highlanders at
the Pass of Glenshiel, forcing them to retire

with considerable loss, and on the following

designated.
After the suppression of the rebellion the
regiment was stationed in Leicestershire and
Nottinghamshire, whence, in February, 17l7,

day the Highlanders dispersed
and the
Spaniards surrendered themselves prisoners
of war.

they moved to Newcastle-on-Tyne, and came

in July to be quartered in Yorkshire, while a

under the command of Major—General Wills.
This change appears to have been occasion.
ed by the preparations made by Charles XII,,
of Sweden, for supporting renewed preten—
sions of James Stuart to the British Crown,
but which were rendered useless by the precautions of the Government and by the death
of Charles. The journals of this period speak
highly of the condition of the British army,

detachment was ordered to Portsmouth,
there to embark with an expedition commanded by their Colonel, Viscount Cobham,
and intended for an attack upon Corunna.
abandoned, but the troops effected a landing
on the coast of Spain, and took Vigo, where
they captured seven pieces of brass ordnance,
with a magazine of muskets and other

particularly of the cavalry, which they repre-

arms.

sent as the “' best in the world."
lutlic spring of 1718, the regiment went
into quarters in Yorkshire and Lancashire,
the establishment being reduced to 207 ofﬁcers and men.
who, desiring to re-

troop, who had already covered

The Royal Dragoons returned to England

The design upon that place was, however,

Rondendella and Pont-a-Vedra also were
taken,and additional seizures made of mili<

tary stores.

DE WAAn’s FARM,
301/1. May, 1.900.
DEAR M,
Early in the month we went back to Blanw
bank for another spellof outpost duty. We
saw Boers frequently on the passes, and at
the foot of the berg, where they evidently
came for grazing and grass-cutting.
One night the sentries close to camp heard
several shots and gave the alarm. We grabbed our riﬂes and rushed out to our posts;
patrols went out to the outposts and returned reporting nothing seen or heard. Next
morning we discovered a ﬁre on our old camping ground. about a mileaway, still smoulder‘
ing (we had shifted camp a few days previously), and no doubt some dropped cartridges had found their way to the ﬁre with
the camp refuse
On another occasion our
scouts came in with information that 500
Boers with two guns were in sight six miles
awry. We struck our tents, moved out, and
took up position, but the enemy remained at

a respectful distance and retired up the berg
Night alarms were frequent about this
time, but although the Boers were active, they
conﬁned their operations to recon noitring.

The rumours of an advance vicl Van Reenans
again became circulated, about

the middle

of the month, probably due to the fact that all-

surplus baggage was sent back to Ladysmith
to be stored.

However, when we did get the

order to march, it was towards the Biggarsberg instead of the Drakensberg.

On the 23rd instant, I had gone out with my

Next day we had a short but rough march
up the mountains, bivouacking near a. deserted farm, in the garden of which we found
potatoes, a most welcome addition to “bully”
and biscuit.
We arrived at Dannhauser on the 35th and
left next morning for Dundee en route to
Zululand, to extricate some of Hethune’s
Horse who had been ambushed and were in a
tightcorner. However, on arriving at Dundee we found the survivors already there.
We left the picturesque but deserted and
looted little town on the 27th instant and
returned to Dannhauser: this was an awful
march of about twenty miles, with a blinding
sand-storm

blowing right in our faces, and

next day we marched here to De Waal’s Farm.
De Waal is a rebel or commando. We commanded his stock, and so had fresh mutton

inplenty, but no vegetables. itis now bitterly
cold at night, and being without tents with

but one blanket and our cloaks, we are
very pleased to see the sun rise! Last night
some coffee left in a camp kettle was frozen
solid, and everything was covered with white
frost.
We can see Majuba’s dark crest from here,
and yesterday some ﬁghting took place at or
near Laing’s Nek. We could hear artillery,
and see the ﬂash of a Boer big gun on a hill
in that direction. Whilst on patrol the other
day I saw a horseman approaching, so halted
and waited to ﬁnd out who he was. As
he came nearer I recognised the uniform
of the Natal Police, and to my surprise discovered the wearer to be an old friend, named

Parry, who left the

had hardly arrived, when a hello flashe d an

Every one appears to be in South Africa
these times. Not far from here is the place
where the squadron of the 18th Hussars
were captured.
The Zulus would appear to delight in

order to return at once. On arriving in camp
we found all packed up and ready to move.
Orders had arrived to rejoin the regiment at

(To [)6 continued.)

miles,

troop to the outpost line ﬁve miles away. and

The Spanish Court made over~

tures for peace, and in November the expedition returned to England.

ten

however, we arrived just after dark.

in the evening.

The peace of Europe was menaced by Phillip
V,, of Spain, in 1719,

SOUTH AFRICAN LETTERS.

EAGLE

Sunday River, where it was

marching with

the cavalry brigade.

meant

march for the

This

squadron,

a

regiment in

Ireland.

long

puzzling the stranger, for their language con-

specially for my

sists of a collection of positively unpronouncg.

. ,.._-»—.~.~.......:,..

’1‘ H E

‘80

able words. '_ Fancy asking the ticket clerk at
Charing Cross for a third single to “ Umng-un

gundhlovana,"and what-time. the nest train left
for ‘: Umgungundhlovu ”! These are the Zulu
.names for ~Greytown and Hetermaritzburg.
There is a. kopji above our camp with a name
about as long as both these put together,
pronounced with three clicks, the ﬁrst, by
Withdrawing the tongue sharply from the
front teeth, the second by a similar movement
from the palate, while the third is a. sound
very akin to the one we use in urging on a
horse.
If you would like to practise, try
unonngatshi (skylark), amatsheketshe (red
antt. Certainly there are shorter words as,
for instance, Iwi (union), and lkowe (mushroom), but if the mushroom

be small, it ex-

pands into Inkowankowane.

At present my

Zulu is limited !
The Kaﬁirs, at present, are receiving many

visitors at their kraals—the Boers go for in—
formation, our men for eggs and chickens !
I
'
Yours,

On-OL.

herself to the Officer Commanding the R. F. A,
She knowing the difﬁculties of procuring
fresh eggs on the part of the interned officers,
did away with the. difﬁculty, so far as Major
Grould burn, It. B‘. A, was concerned, by
laying him a nice large, white egg daily
It was during the siege of Ladysmith that
she received the wound, the marks of Which
she carried with her all her life. ll'er'leg
was broken by a chance shot, from a Boer’s
riﬂe, one day when she had forgotten to take
cover. Her leg mended, but gave her that
peculiar gait, which really made her so at»
tractive and irresistibly comic when she took
her walks abroad. She was evidently rather
proud of the wounded limb and tried to show
it off to the best advantage.
Jemima left Ladysmith after the siege and
followed the fortunes of the gunners as far as
RooiPynt. It was at this salubrious spot
that she was transferred to the Royals. Her
Battery was ordered on trek, and Major
Gouldburn, ignorant of Jemima‘s travelling
capabilities, gave her, together with three
others of her kind, to the Ofﬁcer Commanding

“C"

“ JEMIMA'.”

Squadron.

These others of the party

biography of

were not of much account. They consisted of
two hens and a cock, who were named, respec—

=<cout’ in the late number of The Eng/e
i~ -ist immediately have turned their thoughts

tively, the “Speckled Ben,” the “Little Brown

All those

81..
.1

E A Gr L E

Th“ E n A o i. E

who read the

t 2 another pet, who followed the fortunes of
the regiment during the Boer war. Although
not, perhaps, to be com pared with our ‘Scout,‘
yotour ‘Jemima' was next in our affections.
:Sut I must ﬁrst describe her for the beneﬁt
of those who never had the pleasure of her
acguaintance. She was a ﬁne specimen of a
barn-door fowl, without any pretence to high
lineage, but a nice, homely, good layer.

She was pure white, except after a South
African dust-storm, when she was inclined to
get somewhat yellow. She kept her age a
dead secret, but she looked like a woman
that is fair, fat, and forty. ' "

Jemima joined the army at the beginning
of ‘the‘siegef Ladysmith, when she attached

Maid,” and the “ Jolly Roger."

All the time we spent at Root ,Pynt, she
Inobly did her duty by supplying the oﬁicers
-of " C ” Squadron with many fresh‘laid emrq
rb‘,
which were always laid in her Squadron
leader’s tent. Her hen-companions also laid
eggs, but they were never as interesting as
Jemiina‘s were, and had no style about their
laying. They only ran into the tent, dropped
an egg in a vulgar hurried manner, and ran
outclucking.
But Jemima had other modes

and manners.

She would ﬁrst of allapproach

the tent byaliank march, and just put her
head round the corner to see'if all was clear
and then run away.
She wouldvdo thisa
few times till she thought that either nobody
was there or that the Squadron leader was

amenable to her presence. Then she would
pretend to come right in and suddenly turn
round and bolt, evidently relying on the British method of ﬁnding out the presence of the
enemy on a kopji, an operation of war, which,
with her usual intelligence, she had pic/ted up
during her active service. At last Jemima
would? summon up enough courage and take
up her position for her maternal duties, but
she never was in a hurry and took her time.
It did not matter whether the Squadron leader
was impatiently waiting for a new-laid egg
for breakfast or not, there she stolidly sat.
She would look somewhat ruﬂ'led when a. rude
hand would gently remove her to see whether
it. was nn fuit accouipli, but that was all.

One morning she did a real big thing.
The Speckled Hen ran in, in a great hurry, sat
down beside her, dropped an egg and ran
away. Jemima looked at it, and immediately
appropriatedit, and in due course laid another
beside it. She then rose up with dignity,
and drew the attention of the Squadron
leader, looking as important as a Duchess at
the opening of Parliament-,—her white feathers smudged here and there, looking, with a
stretch of imagination, like Royal Ermine.
The supreme happiness of Jeinima’s life
occurred at Newcastle. At this place, owing
to a. plentiful supply of fresh rations, she was
allowed, as a great treat, to keep one of her
own eggs.

What

excitement as the day of

hatching approached! Atlast came the result,
but it \VLS not quite in order. Surely the
pure white mother wouid have H. White child;
but not a bit of it, as out of the egg appeared
a. coal-black Kaiﬁr chick.
Jemima appeared somewhat disappointed

at ﬁrst that her offspring should soevidently
have taken after the paternal side oi" the
family, but she soon got over that, and walked
about proudly with it, sometimes nearly
sQuashing it owing to the clumsy gait of her
wounded limb.
At last the order came for the regiment to
leave Natal, and go by rail to Belfast- in tie

Transvaal. Joy at the prospect was universal
throughout the regiment, although Jemima
was to all appearances unmoved. Six long
days and nights on the train brought us to
Belfast. from where we were ordered ona
three

weeks' trek to the north, to return viii

Roos Senekal to Middleburg. This was the
only trek which Jemima. never did with the
regiment, and she, together with her ill-fated
offspring and companions, was left behind.
It was here that the awful massacre took
place, and Jemima's life must have hung on it
thread.
It was not until the regiment returned
to Middleburg that news came to hand that
Jemima was the sole survivor of
the
chicken run. What had become of the others,
was always wrapped in mystery ; but it was
said that the Bandmztster, who was left he ‘
hind, also liked chickens, and it was whispered that he gloated

over the massacre of the

Innocents, as Catherine de Medici did over
the Huguenots, but with his joy enhanced by

the thought of gastric joys to come. They
were greatly missed, much more it is said.
than all the defaulter sheets which were

mysteriously burnt zit Belfast,-—perhaps to
light the

ﬁre

which

roasted the Speckled

Hen.
Henceforth Jemima trekked hard with the
regiment. She took it all philosophically,
butit hadits effect on her physically, as
from that time onwards she resolutely refused to lay an egg. The reason of this, she
keptto herself,~—it may have been that she

lost heart after the sad death of her only
child, or the discomfort of the continual trek '1

with the impossibility of making a. nest, or
even perhaps it was anno domini‘ beginning‘
to tell.
As regularly as clockwork Jemima was
the first article to be lifted otf the Oﬂicers'
Mess wagon, and was always the last t0 get
mounted,

sometimes

pretending

that

she

stillliked to be chaste as in her youth, es‘
pecially when the ofﬁcers had rather lingered

&

THE

over their breakfast and the meSs
wagon
late.
She must, manya time, have carri
ed
life in her hand when so many hung
ry
were about, and it is wonderful
how

escaped the

was
her
men
she

cookingpots of the lawless

Driscoll’s scouts. But she certainly
had a
look of toughness, and a kind of ‘bre
ak-yourteeth ’air about her, which probably stoo
d her

good stead.
At Bloemfontein, atthe close of the
war,
she settled down to a quiet existenc
e for a
time, but she stubbornly refused to
entertain
for one moment the idea of laying an egg.
At last the regiment was ordered home
, and
it seemed a matterof course that both ‘Sco
ut’
and ‘Jemima’ should accompany it. Jemi
ma
took to the sea at once, old soldier as
she now

was, and took her promenade like anybody
else.
.
But now the supreme tragedy of her life
was at hand. She was colonial born, and was
about to see the motherland for the ﬁrst
time
The shores of England were actually
in sight as the transport came steaming up the
Channel. All was excitement and expectation
on board, and Jemima was up betimes to
view the land on the port how. The sailors
a 1d deck swabbers were washing down the
decks, when, sad to relate, Jemima was caught

by the hose, ﬂapped on to the rails and went
over board to a watery grave.
It was a cruel and tragic death, when nearlv at the end of her active service, but
she still lives in the memories of those who
served with her, and she will never be forgotten by the regiment whose fortunes and

vicissitudes she had followed throughout the
greater part of the Boar war.
E. M.
Scene: Pontoon Bridge, an early morning
in February
Red Patrol: “Hi, you can’t come over

AN ARTICLE WITH EXTRACT
FROM 1
“ THE PIONEER.”
SHOOTING.
There have been many indicati
ons of
changes to take place this year in
the competi-

tions which are managed by the Arm
y Riﬂe
Association at Home and in India.
The changes
are entirely in favour of shooting
under
approximate service conditions, inst
ead of
at bull‘s-eyes. Tne wishes of the
Army
councilseem to have been considered even
to
the smallest details.
The School of Musketry are excluded from
the Army Championship and “ Methuen ” Cup,
and are given the “ Roupel " and “ Watk
in ”
competitions instead, as a sort of solace.
The “ Watkiu " is a team match for technists,
the " Roupel," an individual competit
ion;

while both have entrance fees equal to the
biggest matches at Bisley.

The contests, as

reconstructed, are all practical, and the
art

of riﬂe shooting, as a pastime in the army
,
has received a heavy blow. Any attempt by
the National Riﬂe Association to carry out
this new system would kill the general interest in riﬂe shooting.
There is no widespread interest in so-called
practical riﬂe shooting; it is all a rush to
the

range—get down—~seven rounds as quick as
you caanerhaps you hit, perhaps not—get
up and go home. After a performance like
this, ask yourself how much more you kno
w
about your riﬂe, ammunition, sights, wind,
light, atmosphere and your answer is ‘3

Who are always ﬁrst at practical shooting at
Hythe? The best bull’s—eye shots are always
ﬁrst. There is no doubt that the Army Riﬂe
Association has been built up by the United

Service Cup at the National Riﬂe Association
meetings. if there had been no Army team to
form,we should never have had such ofﬁcers as
Colonels Hopton and Cowan. the Captain of the
Army eight, and many others, interested in
theannual match and in the development of
the riﬂe. Now the Army eight has to be got

where and how it can.

'l‘hereis one thing

which might be done, that is, to exclude every
body from ﬁring more than a certain number
of times, within a certain number of years,
in any one match. By this means. fresh men
would come forward, be trained, and kept
in readiness, while ﬁve times the number
would receive education in practical and
technical shooting. Thus the shooting of

the army, even of the nation, would be improved. In America, a. man, who has competed
three times in the “ State Teams Match,”
is barred from competing again; for this
reason the country secures a. great number

of expert riﬂe shots, but does it get the. best
representative team? There IS no restriction
placed on individual matches, where the man

pays his entrance fee and takes hls chome. .
If it had not been for bull’s-eye competition, we would not now have the experts
at Hythe and in the Inspection Departments
of Enﬁeld, Birmingham, and Woolwtch: I
would like to know what estimating wind
allowance, observation of ﬁre, and Judging
distance is, if it is not skill with the rifle.
For competitive purposes, practical shootmg
means linking, and this entails the. loss of
really serious interest.
Thus the riﬂe will never be more than
adrilling prop in the hands of soldiers, if the

Royal Dragoons, and the whole under command of Major Matter, King‘s Dragoon
Guards, left Ulundi on a patrol, the object of

which was generally understood to be the attempted capture of the fugitive kingCetywayo.

Two patrols were already out under Major
Barrow and Captain Lord Gifford, V.C., and
at the drift on the Black River six companies
of the 60th Riﬂes, with some mounted infantry
and natives, underthe command of Brigadier,
General Clark, were posted about 7 RM.

On that evening we reached the drift, where
we bivouacked for the night. Next morning,
accompanied by General Clark, we started
off to make a friendly call on Usibels, who
had shown some hesitation in giving himself

up. On the 24th we met him on his way in,
as he had received information of our intended visit, which he did not seem to appreciate.
He was mounted on a strong pony, accompaniv
ed by some ﬁfty followers, armed with old
riﬂes, assegais, and shields. They went on
to Ulundi, and the squadron returned to the
Black Umerloe, which we reached on the morn-

ing of the 26th at 10 RM,

That night a spe-

Germany and America, we must lure on
the would-be riﬂe shot with attractive com—
petitions, and whilst holding his personal

cial messenger arrived from Ulundi, and Ma-

interest, teach him service condition work,
But, in the desire for betterment, the

structions.
At6A.M., on the 26th, the squadron, with
twentyﬁve natives of Barton’s Regiment, left

“Association

has lurched to an extreme.

jor Marter received orders to march the ﬁrst

thing in the.morning with other private in—

Surely well organized Squadron Riﬂe Clubs,
throughout the regiment, would increase our
interestiu the fast dying riﬂe shooting. A
system could be adopted, by which the winner of a Sergeants’ or Corporals’ “Spoon
Shoot," would carry his penalty in Squadron
Club Competitions, whilea. graduated scale

the drift, and following the path through
the bush struck oﬁ in a north-easterly

'of handicapping
iiair chance.

large kraal. A slight drizzle fell during the
early part of the night and none of the ofﬁcer.

would give every body a.

direction, directly we'were clear of it; no-

thing occurred of any interest that day.
daylight, next

At

morning, the 27th, we were

again on the move, and that night we halted
on the top of a steep range of hills, close to a

‘54.

TH E

E A (+1.14;
,

THE
seemed very sanguine except the Major who
kept his information, whatever it was, quite

to himself.

We had not been able hitherto

to obtain the slightest hint from the natives
as to the whereabouts of the king.

At day—

light, on the 28th, we saddled up justﬁlling
the nose-bags with mealies which-the natives

had supplied with very bad 01 ace

Workino

round to the north and describing nearly a
horse shoe, we came to a steep descent where
every one had to dismount and lead theii
horses.

other kraal, about two miles off, situated 011
the
top of a plain looking down into the valley of
the Nejoine fo1 est
The aspecc of the country had now chang
ed altogether, hithe1 to it had been very
monotonous, nothing but a succession of undulating hills covered with rough grass, a.
good deal ’of which had been burnt. Now

the country

was

green and dotted here

and there with clumps of t1ees the Nejoine
fo1est forming the backgiound O11 ou1 ap
p1'0aching this kraal, the guides signed to

When half-way down a native came up with
a note from Lord Gifford to Captain Maurice;

Major Martei to halt his men clase undei the
edge of the forest and then beckoned to him

He handed it to M ajo1 Marter who 1ead it, the
contents weie to this effect: ‘Have got on the
hack again; hope to take him to night; you
might have given me the tip befo1e f01 ‘ Auld

to follow them, and leading the way th1ouch a

Lang Syne ’ "; there was more in the note,
but nothing to give the slightest clueto the ob’«

:ject of our search.

At the bottom of this hill

there was a delicious stream where we watered the horses, then let them graze for an hour.

As we were about to move off again, a Zulu apMajor Marter
peared coming towards us.
entered into conversation with him through
the interpreter, and just as he was going, the
Zulu said to the interpreter, “Which way is

strip of wood they pointed toa th1cll bush 01e1
hanging the valley about ﬁfty yards on, sign.
ing to the Major to go on to it. When he did he
perceived a kraal oftWelvehuts surrounded by
a wattle fence in the valley below; on his return he ordered all the men to draw their
swords and leave their scabbards behind with

the led-horses and mules, This was to prevent
the clanking of the swords giving any warning.

He also told our natives to strip so as to ap-

pear as much as possible like Zulus, and

going over that hill in front,” and then the

left a sergeant and eight men to take charge
of everything. This done, he told the men
that from all he could gather the king was in
the terrace below in the valley, and that his

native said, “ I think that you had better go

capture depended on them obeying silently and

'round that way (pointing to the right), as the
wind blows from there today: 1 have had my

quickly any order they might receive, they

would have to lead their horses down the side

Say.” He then turned round and walked off.

of the mountain through the forest and when

This hint was promptly taken and every one
became very keen, as Major Marter told the

they arrived at the edge of the bush they

dﬂicers that he thought there was a very
’Tg’ood chance of their taking the king. We then

The right t1oops unde1 command of Captain
Godson extended to the left and came up on

worked East round the hill, and after a steep

the left of the kraal.

:the rukos going?” Major Marter said, “Iam

place, there was a drop of some feet off a rock

with a nasty landing ; in fact, to men in cold
blood it would have appeared almost impossible to have got horses down at all. Eventual-

ly all reached the bottom of the hill in safety,
and though several horses slipped up none
were much damaged. The forest extended,
to within 400 yards of the kraal; there was
a most convenient knoll between it and us, so

that the inhabitants were unable to see any
one approaching from our side until we were
quite close. Directly every one was clear of
the forest, Major Marter gave the word to
mount, he then waited for the guides who had
crawled through the long grass to see if all
was right On their return they appeared
greatly excited, signing t0 the Major to go on,
he accordingly gave the order to advance at a
walk as long as they were hidden by the knoll.
On arriving at the top he gave the word to

gallop andled the way himself. The ground
between the forest and the kraal was rough
and stony, one man came to grief through his

horse putting his foot in a hole and rolling

i-Maj‘o‘v‘r Mar'ter told the guides- 10 show the
way, which proved to be a rough one, being

then'told to request His Majesty to step out-

would have to ride about a qua1te1 of a mile

The

squad1on

was

under command of Captain Gatling. while the

halted a little distance off and the Major with
l'therin'térpreter rode up to the kraal, which,

natives were Sent lound by a circuitous route

"by the way, belonged to Ummungamane, who

the valley.
When these preparations were/completed,

had 's'u'1 rendered some days befo1e. Major
Marter asked for two guides, and two young
men got up immediately andled the way to an-

We all dismounted

over him. As the cavalry appeared in sight
of thevkraal, our natives showed themselves
in the very nick of time on the other side.
Carrying out Major Marter’s instructions, we
rapidly and completely surrounded the kraal.
The inhabitants who numbered twenty-three
were standing at the very narrow entrance to
the enclosure and armed—some with assegais,
and some with rilles. Major Marter went
inside the enclosure with the interpreter.
Unkoosana, an induna of the Uuodwergo
Regiment, who had stuck to C e t y w a y 0
throughout his ﬂight from Ulundi, was told
by the interpreter to show Major Marter in
which but the king was, this he did (it was the
third hut to the right of the entrance) and was

We

climb came to a kraal three miles on.

simply a cattle path.

and advanced by single ﬁle, leading our
horses down a very steep incline, strewn
with rocks and stones, here and there a huge
trunk ofa tree barred the path, at another

to the left to cut off all chances of escape down

EAGLE

8:).

side and show himself. The king at first 1efused to do so, saying, that he was afraid that,
directly he put his head out of the hut, he

would be immediately shot.

When assured

that his life was safe, he coolly asked, “ What
rank does the ofﬁcer hold to whom I am to;
surrender ?” Major Marter replied that he.
was the representative of the Commander- inChief. Mr. Oftento, themte rpreter, and sonf
of the Missionary at Ekome, who had knowri
Cetywayo since he was a boy, then spoke to
him. Cetywayo immediately recognised his
voice and called to him by name, asking if it
was safe for him to come out. On being as- ,
sured in the afﬁrmative, he appeared crawling
out of the hut in the usual Kafﬁr fashion, on

his hands and knees. He wore a Moncha
made of skins, and hadaring on his head,
the upper part of his body was covered
with a large red table-cloth embroidered.
with green ﬂowers, fastened at the neck
in front and hanging over his shoulders.
Directly he stood up, alldoubts as to his being
the king were set at rest, as at a glance we.

could see his superiority, both in appearance
and carriage, to all other Zulus. He looked
round on every one with the greatest scorn
and stalked majestically into the middle of
the kraal. Six dragoons were dismounted
and told off as his guard, with loaded carbines.

Cetywayo was informed that if he tried to
escape he would be shot ; he was then marched outside the enclosure, while the huts
were searched. Amongst the an ticles found
were several Ma1tini Henry riﬂes, nearly all
of which belonged to the lst/ 24th, a battered
bugle and a private 3

Glengarry cap, a few

very ﬁne assegais, including two belonging to
the king, which were found in his hut and a
which
central-ﬁre gun,
double-barrelled
Major Marter kept, to the great disgust of
the officer who found it. Three of the king5
orirls we1e in one but
wives and three youngg
and were told they might accompany the
kingif they liked. These women were all
young, from twelve to twentyﬁve years of

a

THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE

age, the wives and two girls were tall and
well developed, with pleasant-looking faces,
the third girl was quite a child. They were all
extremely well dressed in the height of Zulu

Lieutenant Burney, with a note to BrigadierGeneral Clark, who was still in the Black
Umerloose Drift, asking for a mule cart and

fashion which is easy of descripton, consist-

Draya Kraal about ﬁve miles from the drift.
This kraal which was deserted, belonged to

ing, of little more than astring of beads.
When all the huts were searched, the king‘s
followers were taken out of the kraal and,

two companies of the 60th Riﬂes to be sent to

the king, and Major Marter said he would endeavour to reach it that night.

Advancing

with a guard of mounted men on each side of

slowly up the valley we crossed a stream,

them, were told to follow the king whose
women carried his blankets and mats on
their heads.

then turning in a southerly direction over a
range of hills we came up to the kraal, where

Lord Gifford had halted the previous day.

Barton’s natives Were sent on as an advance

Here we made a short halt for breakfast ;

guard, while

Major Marter

rode

beside

the king with a drawn sword between his

leg and the saddle, and a loaded revolver
in his hand. The grim features of the aged

during the rest of the day we made but slow
progress, until at dusk we came up to a very
steep and rocky pass ; we all dismounted and
led our horses—it was a difﬁcult task getting

Parade ; he told him to send out ﬂanking parties for 200 yards on each side to prevent any
one approaching the king.
After waiting
half an hour the ﬂankers and an advancedguard were sent out under an officer.

The ofﬁcer of the King’s Dragoon Guards
had the honour of personally guarding the
king. This great privilege being denied the
other two ofﬁcers, though they were present

at the capture and were with the patrol from
the time that it started. A large concourse of
all ranks had turned out to witness Major
Marter’s triumphant entry and the ﬂankers
had no easy task to keep every one outside

them.

Major Were lit up by a smile of triumph as

the troop horses up.

he gave the word to march that evening, for it
was not until 4-30 P. M. that everything was
in readiness for the start. We only advanced

confusion made by the horses slipping and
struggling about on the rocks; nine men and
one woman made their escape, and though

three miles, entirely owing to the reluctance

several shots were ﬁred at them, owing to

Twohours later Cetywayo and all his fol
lowers looked for the last time on Ulundi, as

the darkness, it was impossible to see if any

they were taken away in an ambulance drawn

of Cetywayo to move beyond a snail-pace. In
fact, after Major Marter had repeatedly

During the noise and

wayo turned to the ninterpreter, and said :—

the Draya Kraal at 7-30 P.M., having been on

“‘ Why does not the ofﬁcer shoot me. I would

gave rise to the rumour that the king asked
to be shot.
‘ About duSk we arrived at a small kraal

the march since daylight. Here we found two
companies of the 60th. Just as we came to the
kraal another of the king’s followers tried to
escape, but was shot by the Farrier-Sergeant
of the King’s Dragoon Guards. The king and
his followers were safely placed in two huts,

and the headman' was ordered to

and a strong guard posted over them.

have killed a man long ago, if he had not
obeyed me better." This speech probably

provide

two huts for the reception of the king and

We were off again at daylight next morn:

his followers. Accordingly the two largest
huts were cleaned out, and although the
king at ﬁrst objected to enter the hut until

ing, the king riding in a mule cart though he

his own attendants had cleaned it out, yet

after a halt of three hours again proceeded

when he was once inside he was soon made
comfortable. The king and his six women
were put into one' but , Umkoorana and the

on our way, still accompanied by two com-

showed at ﬁrst much disinclination to enter it.
We reached the Black Umerloon at 8 A.M.. and

panies of the 60th Riﬂes.

tunate enough to effect the capture of the
king, especially after their having been left
behind when Lord Chelm’sford advanced on
Ulundi. Major Marter received
hearty

congratulations from Sir G. Wolseley and all
his staff. Next day the terms of peace were
read over to a large number of assembled
chiefs, and the Zulu war may be said to have
ended with the capture of Cetywayo on the
28th August, 1879.

PATROL DUTY 1N INDIA.
It is not often in India one is able to experience long-distance work owing to the

adverse conditions of the'weather.

himself slept across the door of the king’ S,
At daylight next morning, every one was on
the move, Major Marter sent on‘an ofﬁcer,

ordering Major Marter to wait outside for a.
shorttime, as the troops were on Church

posted round the two huts and Major Marter

Every one was extremely glad

that the King’s Dragoon Guards were for-

That night we

bivouacked nine miles from Ulundi. On the
morning of the 31st, we marched soon after
daylight and On arriving near the camp received a message from General Colleyes

rest into the other hut; a strong guard was

into the tent prepared for him.

by ten mules.

told him to steplout, but with no effect, Cety<

were hit. As soon as it was found that the
king was safe, we pushed on and arrived at

Eagle would be interested to know of my

experience during the time I was away.
A patrol had left the regiment a fortnight
previous, and as it had returned, the experience they had gained was passed on to us,
and of course we made good use of it.
The object of the patrol was to ﬁnd a manoe-

uvre ground south of Sultanpur.

The heat,

asa rule, is too great for men and horses,

while the water is also very bad.
Since Iwas lucky enough to take part in

the long-distance patrol this month, I thought
some Of the readers of our now popular

The coun-

try was thoroughly reconnoitred, -but it
was found to be absolutely unsuitable, for the
following reasons. —

(i) In a dry year there is no water-supply.
(ii) In a wet year, it would be impossible,
owing to the low-lying ground near

Sultanpur which would be under

Two tents had been pitched to the left

front of the headquarter camp and to them
Cetywayo was brought. The cavalry halted
and the 60th forming two lines on each side
of the tents, the king walked between them

a

water, owing to rice cultivation.
The land round Partabgarh is very
much cultivated.
(iv) There is no grass or forage to be got.
(v) No tract of open ground suitable for
manoeuvring.

(iii)

Our orders were to march as light as possible. Each man was to take two horses, one
to be ridden, the other to be used to carry
enough forage to last us for three days.
After this we were to endeavour to live on
what we could obtain from the different

villages through which we passed.

The old

idea of a numnah and blanket was discarded,

in its place we had one saddle rug and a sleeping blanket placed under the saddle.
we found to be a great success.

This

On the saddle-horse practically nothing was
carried. The led-horse (besides carrying four
nose-bags) carried thirty pounds of com.
This was put in a sack sewn up at both ends,

with a slit in the centre, which was laced up.
This improvised “sea-kit bag” was then strapped across the saddle. We tried a new experiment for carrying our rations and cook
ing utensils. Each patrol engaging an ekka
for this purpose. We found that even on our
longest marches these could keep up with
us, and, more often than not, arrived ﬁrst in

camp.
It is not my intention to give a detailed

:

‘ ....._.....,,.‘_;‘,>

\

V'THE EAGLE

ideou‘nt 'hfl'éach day’s march, as it is tOO
wearisome; but I will roughly sketch the
march-es“ made.
.
"The‘batrol, which consisted of two ofﬁcers
and “eight men, started from Lucknow on
Monday, 30th March, at 5 A.-M.', and marched to
Sulempur, a distance of eighteen miles.
The

morning was very hot, and what with the packs
Working off and other little annoyances

which are experienced on ' the ﬁrst day’s
march of every journey, our pace was very

slowi’ We arrived at 9-30 A.M. and camped
for the “day.
marched

We moved off again at 4-30 P.M..

to Haidaghar,

a

trek

of twelve

miles, and arrived at 6-30 RM. We found that
it was impossible to obtain the grass, which we
had ordered in advance, as the country was
barren from the drought.

On Tuesday we struck camp at 5 AM. The
road was good,and, beneﬁting from the experiences of the day before, we were able to
move at a much faster pace. We reached

Jagdispur, a march of twenty miles, by 9-30.
Here we made our mid-day halt, moved off

again at 4-30 and marched to Moosaﬂ'akhana,
adistance of twelve miles, where we stayed
for the night. Itis a very large village, but

the water is very bad, even when boiled. The
following morning we marched twenty-four

miles to Sultanpur and arrived there at 830.
The road— was in good condition, the weather
Lerribly hot, and wind behind us, and altogether it was our most trying march. About
three miles before we reached camp, one of the
horses fell down, overcome with the heat but
after a short rest he washable to march linto

camp. We stayed here until 430 the following
evening, when we made a short march to
Pipapur, a distance of seven miles.
On Friday morning we marched sixteen

half~heartedly. We wired into Lucknow and
hada small amount of forage forwarded
by
rail. This, combined with the forage alread
y
bought, suﬁiccd to form a fairly satisfactory
feed. We were unlucky at this camp,
for‘

miles, and camped for the day. We moved off
again at 4-30‘P.M. and marched toGaurigani, a

MUSKETRY.
On Tuesday, the 17th of March, the" annual
“best shot" of the Sergeants and of the Rank
and File took place. The Sergeants‘ competition was exciting up to the very last shot,
when Sergt. Rapkin, last year’s winner, only
had to hit the target to win. He scored an
outer, theonly’one he made. The competition
is, seven shots to count at two, tive,' and six
hundred yards The result of the shoot

distance of eight miles,*where we stopped for

was :—

two men reported sick, and had to be sent by
train to Lucknow.

On Saturday we started

at 5.30, marched to Amethi, about twenty-two

the night. The next day, Sunday, we made
our longest march to Rae-Bareli, a good thirty;
one miles, which we completed without halt~
mg, except occasionally to water our horses

and arrived at

9-45 RM.

On Monday, we

made two marches of twenty-one and eiaht
miles to Nigohan. The following moruibnO'
we broke camp at 5 A.M.and marched straio
hbt
in to Lucknow, arriving at 8 A.M., a distahce
of twenty miles.

The horses

arrlved back in a better condition than they
were in when they left Lucknow.
V
The following points were learnt :-—
1. During the march it is necessary
to
water horses every ten miles. Water can
be
had from the small irrigation trenches which
surround the ﬁelds, or can be drawn
from
wells, but this is very tedious.

2. During the ﬁrst two days horses are
inclined to be off their feed, so the scale of feed-

ing is necessarily small.
As soon as they are used to the work,

they require good feeding to keep them in
condition, 161bs. being only just sufﬁcient.
4. The best mode of marching in the warm
weather was found to be, trot for six or

miles to Eartabgarh and arrived at 8 o’clock

seven miles, then dismount and lead for one

Here we obtained a small amount of dhooh
grass, the ﬁrst obtainable on our journey. we

mile alternately.

had been feeding the horses for the last two

days on barley and bran, bought at Sultanpur,
but it was very poor and the horses only ate it

In conclusion, I should like to say that at
this time of year it is really too hot for this
sort of work, but in the cold weather it would
be enjoyable.
’

. 89 points.

Sergt. Rapkin. 1st
R. Q. M S Sykes, 2nd

.. 88

Sergt. Thompson, 3rd

.. 87

“

Besides winning this competition for the
second year in succession, Sergt. Rapkin was
well up in the “De Lisle Sword,” and “ Best
man-at-arms" at the Divisional Assault-atArms. Let us hope he performs the “hat

trick" next year. Below we publish
score of this and last year's :
1907
1908

..5,3.i,5.4.5.4‘30.
..5.4.4.3.5.4.3—30.

500
2.l,»i.5.3.i.rl—2G.
3,4,4.4.5.5.1‘-2‘J.

1.1.
4.4.:

600
.3—31.
30.

his

Total 87.
Total 89.

In the rank and tile shoot, Corpl. Hughes
was ﬁrst with 81, and Corpl. Ratciii’fe second
with 79.
On Thursday, the 7th, the Sergeants had a
“Spoon Shoot," which resulted in'the lst

Spoon going to Sergt.

chief features of their innings were Marlow’s
careful cricket, Sergt. Fisher’s bowling, and
Sergt. Jeffrey’s very ﬁne righthanded catch,
in the slips, which disposed of Corpl. Seaton.
In the Second innings, the “O. and S.”

started badly by los ing2 fir 5, but a useful
partnership realised about 60 runs before it
was dissolved. . Sergt. Rapkin played Well for

his 39. The innings 'closed at 106 ; this left the
“ Rest" 95 to get. Neil bowled steadily and
took 4 for 1‘1. The “ Rest” easily accomplished their task, but not, before they had lost
4 wickets.

score of 82, and the 2nd to Sergt. Allchin
with 81. Set-gt. Mitchell shot well and made
87, but as he owed 9, he was placed third,
with 78.
CRICKET.

On April, the 15th and l6th, the ﬁrst of the
annual matches took place between the Ofﬁcers
and Sergeants and the Rest of the Regiment,
On‘ Wednesday afternoon. the “Rest "’ won
the toss and put the “ O. and S. " in to bat ﬁrst.
to
They did very badly and only managed
3
took
and
make 98; Rankin bowled well,
went
then
“Rest”
The
runs.
2
wickets for
in, but the’light was getting very bad, and

they lost 4 for 12, before it failed entirely.
On Thursday, play was resUmed at 6.15
when the “Rest ” made 10$ all out. The

REGIMENTAL GAZETTE.
This match took place on Wednesday and
Thursday, the 6th and 7th, and resulted in a
very exciting ﬁnish. In the ﬁrst Innings
of “A” and“ D” Sergt. Fisher bowled
well, taking4 wickets for 14. Sergt. Jeffrey
played good cricket, making runs when they
Were badly needed. But, despite the efforts
of Mr. Houstoun and Corp]. Wilson, “A ”

“A”

.
'

b

HKlnight K
..
_0 mes b
nlght.

and “ D ” were unable to make the runs, and
lost by 33.

Second Innings.

Galletly
..
Bateman b Van-

..

Total

.

”

b R

kl

Turp byKne‘lilp

..

Lawrence c and
lnm b
..
Sergt. Sutch
c
and
Bateman
.
Extras

. . 57

Total

6743 Pte. MnDougall to Allahabad, 30th April, to attend
an Armourer’s course at the Allahabad Arsenal.

HOCKEY.
" The Houstouii. Cup.”
FIRST ROUND.

4 cEshmade Bateman
cEdis Esbmade

3

c&bEshmade

1st vs.
1st ,,
151: ,,
2nd ,,
2nd .,
‘lrd ,,

3

not out

2nd, a draw
3rd,3rd won
4th,4th
3rd,2nd
4th,4th
4th, adraw

sick patients. transferred to DurJeellng Station Hospital.

Regimental. Employ.

“ A ” Squadron, Inter-Troop Hockey Tournament for

..

No score.
3 goals to

.

n
h
n
3 goals all.

o
*

5820, Pte. Nelson will be employed in the Orderly Room
until further orders.
Pte. Meredith will take over charge of the Maxim Gun
vice Pte. Merrick.
5222, Pte. Halford Will be Orderly to Lieut. E. W. T. Miles
from to-day’s date.

0
0

. . 99

and even game “ D ” managed to get the deciding goal, and won by 3 to 2.
On Tuesday, the 5th of May, the ﬁrst of a
series of Regimental games took place. A

MONTHLY NOTES.
Readers will have noticed that the notes
under this heading have almost invariably
opened with remarks—usually growls—about
the weather. In case this should be regarded as becoming somewhat monotonous, we
offer an explanation. There are some, knowing the delightfully surprising nature of the
English climate, who will probably not readily
believe that the weather of Indiais a much
more important affair than that of England.
The difference is that while the English
weather has little or no effect upon the people,
or the people’s occupations, here in India

the weather is something to be respected.
At home it may rain or shine, be freezing
or foggy, or snowy (or all these together——by
no means uncommon), but the English man
goes to business just as usual, and beyond
an adjective or two, disregards it. There is
no disregarding the Indian weather.
It
refuses to be ignored. During the monsoons
the rain pours down in sheets, and no umbrella
or mackintosh could make a journey possible.
When the brief “cold weather” Comes
round, it does not mean merely that the sun is
less hot.

One‘s blood is thin after a summer
on the plains, and the severe cold snipthat

ensues, paralyzes the body, so that feeling

weather.
Everything speaks of it.
Your
reeking horse, the greasy cling of your sweatsaturated clothing, darkened rooms, punkahs,
tatties, dried-up gum and ink-bottles, curledup books and papers, to say nothing of one or
two minor physical discomforts, such as prickly heat, water-blisters, or boils—all keep the
question of the weather a matter for daily,
hourly discussion. Men meet in the evening,
and compare the day’s maximum heat with that
of yesterday, becoming so expert as to anticipate the meteorological report within a tenth
of a degree!
Writing letters, the subject of
greatest importance—the weather—is ﬁrst
dealt with. Everything is dependent on it.
Drills, meals, working hours, playtimes, all

are subservient to it.
This then explains
Why we immediately rush to a description of
the latest sample of “ weather.”

At present we are being treated to the
most trying kind—dust-storms, ﬁerce heat,
khaki-coloured skies.
The sun remains
hidden during the greater part of the day
behind immense dust-banks, but is none the
less

scorching.

Gradually increasing,

the

thermometer has now reached 115D in the
shade
Unless the rain comes soon and stays
such fearful increase, itis not unlikely this
will be the last number of The Eagle 1

in the extremities can only be maintained by
toasting oneself over a huge tire.

Fires in

the tropics!

weather

Still

less

may

the

In spite of the heat. however, work continues

in much the same manner.

The mornings up

which prevails during the summer be treated

to8 o‘clock are sufﬁciently cool to allow of

with indiiierence.

riding school and musketry, so the manlan
presents a busy picture, calling to mind “ The
people of the mist.” Only in this case the
mist happens to be dust, although it does not
follow, the dust is ‘ mist,’ for we consume
quantities of it !

It is not a question of

discomfort, but of positive danger. Go out
in the sun without your helmet—it is open
to argument whether this or prussic acid is
the more certain method ! You cannot get
away from the weather, especially the hot

94

,

THE

EAGLE

THE
It is our sorrowful task to record the death
of F. Q. M. Sergeant H. W. Mott, which
occurred in the Station Hospital, Lucknow,
on 5th instant, as the result of a heat-stroke.

The body was interred in the evening ‘of the
same day, a large number beingin attendance
at the grave side. He was a widower, his wife
having died at Lucknow last year. The tw0

children are at home.
“George” Mott joined the Royals on the
29th October, 1888, and consequently would

have completed his 21 years in 1909. He was
promoted Farrier-Sergeant in 1893, and Staff
Sergeant-Farrier in 1896. He served through
the South African war with the regiment,
where for a time he olﬁciated as FarrierMajor, being promoted to that rank in 1902

in the place of F. Q. M. S. Bailey.
A senior member of the Sergeants’ Mess,
and gifted with much sound common sense, he

School, Netheravon, where, as is well known,
he was for a while Riding-Instructor. In.

paper to render the glare as agreeable

speaking of the usefulness of sucha school

possible to the eyes

in India, R. S. M. Plumb but voices a general
opiniOn. In point of fact, the authorities have.
for some time, had the matter under consider,ation, and we‘ understand it has now been

practically decided to abolish Mounted Infan-

the absence of any better explanation ! As,
however, the stock of paper from which our
original colour was taken is almost exhausted
and no more can be procured, we have decided for the present to retain the green cover. ‘

try schools and start a Cavalry school early
1n the coming year.
>

We have recently unearthed an old Royal in

“ The Afghan Wars of 1838 and 1878,”
the article which forms part of this month’s
Eagle, is of much interest at a time like the

present, when the eyes of the world are turned
towards the Indian Frontier, and when only a
few weeks ago there was every indication of
another Afghan war. Though brief, the article
contains all the chief points of the two cam.

paigns and the events which led up to them,
and we thank Colonel de Lisle for his contri-

of the Mess.

bution.

He was a man of much intelli-

quite common to hear, if a story had to be
told:

“Let old George tell it!” Poor “old

George I"

Requz‘escat in pace/

We have just seen a copy of The Flag, a

paper got up by the council of the Union Jack
Club with the object of deriving funds from its

sale to provide an additional 150 beds at the
club in London, and to establish a source of
revenue to enable them to found clubs in

This month will witness two events of
some importance. The ﬁrst is the anniversary of Waterloo Day, June 18th. As our read
ers are aware, on this day annually the regi«
ment is presented with a wreath by the Emperor William, our Colonel-in-Chief, to com.
memorate the famous occasion on which Prussians and English combined to overthrow Na—
poleon. No intimation as to who will perform
the ceremony in the Emperor’s name has

The admirable

reached us up to the time of writing, but an
ofﬁcer from the Ger man Consulate-General in

cause alone should be sufﬁcient to create a
large demand for copies; but, quite apart
from this, the paper is an excellent shilling's
worth. The most distinguished authors and

India will most likely be sent
The other
event is the King’s Birthday celebration
parade which will be held on the 26th instant.

artists have contributed—moreover, have
generously given their work free, as also have

It will have been noticed that the cover of

different parts of the empire.

printers, publishers, advertising agents, etc.
The Flag is unique in having been produced
entirely free of cost,
An article by R. S. M. Plumb will be found
in this number dealing with the new Cavalry

as

This must sufﬁce in

14-2 and under, over 1,400 yards, riding the
same owner’s Little Gallant, he was placed
ﬁrst out of a ﬁeld of twelve, “ making a great
race,” as the Pioneer describes it.
Mr. Charrington is spending a short‘leave
in Simla, as are also Captain Lambert and Mr.

Rube.

Congratulations to Captain Sandbach and
Mr. Cosens.

the person of Charlie Ansell, who is at pres-

represented an integral part of the backbone
gence, possessing a bright wit and a genial
soul, and was renowned as a raconteur. It was

95

EAGLE

ent 1st class Staff Sergeant-Major, A. S. C.,
chief clerk to the General Ofﬁcer Commanding, Ceylon, and Garrison SergeantMajor, Colombo. Ansell joined the Royals in
Longford in .881, and was made Sergeant
in 1889, leaving the regiment in April, 1890,
from Colchester. to join the office of the
newly—established l. G. 0., Great Britain
and Ireland, under Lieutenant-General Sir
D. C. Drury-Lowe (recently deceased). He
joined the corps of military staff clerks, and
was transferred to the A. S. 0. He served in
the Ashanti campaign in 189506 and in the
late South African war with the 2nd Division,

by the Regiment to the remainder of the
garrison, was held on Wednesday evening,
the 10th instant, at the back of the regimental
theatre, the attendance being far in excess
of any we have seen at these entertainments
before. The evening was not too hot, there
was no dust, the programme was good, and
went without a bitch, and to judge by the
reception accorded to the performers, the
whole show was greatly appreciated. Major
Makins and all the oﬂicers of the regiment
present in Lucknow attended, as well as a
number of officers of other corps. It is to

He was in, “ l-I ” Troop under T. S. M. For
man when he joined, and later served under

to sage-green, and probably many readers
wondered thereat. So did we when we saw it.
The printer confesses to putting up the green
paper, without intention, thinking it was
the usual blue I During the hot weather, all

windows are covered with green paint or

ments.

HISTORICAL

RECORD

, containOf the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoons
ing an account of its formation in the reign of

King Charles the Second, and of its subsequent services to the present time.
By General C. P. de Ainslie.

T. S. M. “ Jack” Boon in “B‘ ” Troop.
(Continued)

From the Pioneer we learn that at the Simla
Horse Show, Colonel de Lisle secured four

prizes with his horses, Prince and Marquis,
our paper was last month changed from. blue

A most successful al fresco concert, given

a ﬁrst and a second prize going to each.
from the same source we learn of Mr_
Charrington’s success at the Simla races.

miles, he was ﬁrst out of a ﬁeld of four;
while in the Minto Cup, a handicap for Arabs,

In February, 1720, his Majesty issued a.
regulation ﬁxing the amount of purchasemoney to be paid for regimentalcommissions,
and the'following prices were established
for the Royal Regiment of Dragoons :— ,.
Colonel and Captain

..

7,000

Lieutenant-Colonel and Captain

3,200

..

2,600

Major and Captain ..

— --—-—...‘. _w (1..

96

THE

Captain
,
..
Captain-Lieutenant

..
..

1,800
1,000

Lieutenant
Cornet

..
..

800
600

..
..

e Adjutant
..
..
200
The Lieutenant of the Colonel’s troop was
styled Captain-Lieutenant.
The Royal Dragoons left Yorkshire in
April, 1721, for Nottingham and Derby, and

on the 19th of that month the colonelcy was

EAGLE

THE

into Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. In
1731 it was stationed in Kent with detach.
ments on coastduty, and in the month of
March of the following year proceeded into
Somersetshire, where, in the spring of 1733,
it detached several parties to the towns and

villages on the Suﬁolk coast, where frequent
encounters took place between the military
and the smugglers.

conferred upon Sir Charles Hotham, Bart.,
Viscount Cobham being removed to the 2nd

The various detachments being collected
in May, 1734,.and the six troops assembled
at Taunton, in Somersetshire, they were re-

Horse, now the 1st or King's Dragoon GuardsDuring the summer of 1722 the regiment

sex, and in August another troop proceeded
to Bath, and furnished a daily guard to the
Princess Amelia during the residence of Her
Royal Highness in that city. In August,

of January, 1723, the colonelcy, having be-

I come vacant by the death of Sir Charles Ho~
tham, was conferred upon Brigadier-General

Humphrey Gore, from the 10th Dragoons,

1738, the ﬁve troops in Somersetshire march‘

the present
Hussars.

ed to the north, there to be under the command of Lieutenant~General Wade, com manding the forces in Scotland; butin April, 1737,
they returned to England to be quartered in
Lancashire, and during the following summer
the six troops were. stationed in Essex and
Kent with detachments on coast duty.
In July, 1739, the Royal Dragoons were
ordered to call in their detachments and to

Prince of Wales’s Own Royal

"I‘he regiment was stationed in Nottingham.
shire and Derbyshire in 1724, and in the following year it furnished a detachment to
assist the revenue ofﬁcers in their duties on
the coast. In October, 1726, it was stationed

in Sussex and Essex.

In this year the Royal

Dragoons were augmented to nine troops of
852 oiﬁcers and men, and were selected to
form part of the force of 10,000 men to be
furnished by England in aid of the States-

General in their war with the Emperor of

take up quarters at Hounslow and its vicinity
where, on the 28th of that month, they were
reviewed by his Majesty
In the beginning

they moved into Worcestershire, and Major-

Germany, but no embarkation was required.

General Gore dying on the 10th of the month,

The demise of King George I. took place on
the 10th June, 1727, and a few days previous

his Majesty bestowed

to the coronation of his successor, George
II., on the 10th of October, the Royal Dragoons marched into quarters near London,
and were reviewed by his Majesty in brigade
with Honeywood’s Dragoons, now the 11th
01' Prince Albert’s Hussars, on Hounslow

Heath, on the 17th of the same month.

They

subsequently moved into Leicestershire and
Derbyshire, and in the beginning of 1728 the
establishment was again reduced to sixtroops.
In the spring of 1730 the regiment moved

the colonelcy of the

regiment upon Charles, second Duke of
Marlborough, from the 33rd Foot.
In this year, the Spaniards having repeatedly violated the existing treaties in regard to
the trade of England with America, King
George II. declared war against Spain, and
the establishment of the Royal Regiment of

Dragoons was augmented to 438 ofﬁcers and
men.
In May, 1740, the colonelcy, vacant by the
removal of the Duke of Marlborough to the
second troop, now second regiment of Life

EAGLE

97

Guards, was conferred, on the 12th of that
month, upon Major-General Hawley, from the
13th Dragoons, the present 13th Hussars.
During the summer the regiment Was en-

of infantry, dashed headlong upon the British
Horse, but the Royal Dragoons undauntedly

camped with three other regiments of cavalry

and captured a standard taken by a sergeant

and six of infantry. near Newbury, and afterwards near Devizes, under the orders of
General Wade. In October it went into Leicestershire.
In November, 1741, the Royal Dragoons
moved into Somersetshire, and when, in the
summer of 1742, King George II. sent 16,000
men into Flanders under Field-MarShal the
Earl of Stair, for the purpose of .assisting
Austria against France, Bavaria and Prussia
the regiment was selected for this service:
and after being reviewed by his Majesty on
Hounslow Heath, they embarked in August,
and on arrival in Flanders they were quartered in the cavalry barracks at Ghent.
Leaving Ghent in February, 1743, the regiment marched into Germany, and in June it
encamped with the other forces near Aschaf-

of the right squadron. It was of white satin
embroidered with gold and silver; in the

fenburg on the River Maine, where they were
joined by the King and the Duke of Camber.
land. On the 26th of June the army marched
on Hanau, a town of Hesse-Cassel, the Royal
Dragoons forming part of the advance column,
and while on the march the French army
commanded by the Due de Noailles, showed
itself in position near the village of DettingenS
in Bavaria. His Majesty immediately made
his dispositions for attack, the Royal Dra.
goons, under Lieutenant-Colonel Naizon, being

met them in mid-career,’ overthrew their
squadrons, cut them down with terrible effect,

stained with blood. and the comet carrying
it was killed without falling, being buckled to

his horse, and the standard buckled to him.
The regiment was afterwards engaged with

the French Household troops, and although
without cuirasses was again victorious over
its steel-clad opponents, and received the
thanks of his Majesty, himselfa Witness of

their

spirited

conduct.

Eventually,

the

French army was overthrown, and ﬂed from
the ﬁeld with great loss.
In this battle the Royal Dragoons had six
men and thirty-four horses killed and ten
wounded, and the regiment has been authorised to bear the word “Dettingen” on its
guidon in commemoration of its services on
that occasion.

.LTa be continued.)
THE NEW CAVALRY SCHOOL.
BY R. S. M. PLUMB.
Many of the readers of The Eagle are doubt~
lessly unaware that a few years ago, the 01d

Riding Establishment at Canterbury was

near the right of the line, LieutenantGenerai

broken up.

Hawley, colonel of the regiment, in conjunc.
tion with Lieutenant-General Cope, commanded the second line of Horse during the
battle—London Gazette, 16th July, 1743,
The French advancing to attack the left of
the allies, the action soon became general, and
the English cavalry encountered the cuirassiers with varied success.
The mousquetaires noirs, acorps d’mte of
French cavalry, separating themselves f:om

organised school has been started.

their line, and passing between two columns

Canterbury style, which had previously found

In its place

a new and wellThis is

the Cavalry school, at Netheravon, a quiet
little village on the banks of the River Avon,

in Hampshire.
The ofﬁcers and non-commissioned ofﬁcers,
who are selected to undergo training, receive
a great amount of useful and sound instruction in the new system of training the recruit
and remount. This new system of instruction

is far in advance of the 01d “ cut-and-dry "

93

favourfor so many years. ' The mode of training the remount diﬁers very largely from the
methods which were employed in the Canterbury school. 'In training the instructorsa
much wider scope is given to the men's
intellectual powers, for such subjects as
Topography, Military Engineering,athorough
knowledge of veterinary work and stable
management, all have to be learnt. Besides
these, the men have to go through fencing,
and a ﬁrst~class course of skill-atvarms,
both of which are very important things.
For the past two or three years, a good

many prize-winners at the Royal Military
Tournament and at the District Tournament,

were men

THE

THEY-EAGLE

who

had

passed

by the army in India would amply repay the
initial expenditure incurred in the formation
of such an establish ment

Besides insuring

that each regiment had the very latest instruction, it would tend to make the drill of the
cavalry more uniform and universal which
would assist commanders in the ”ﬁeld to a
very great extent.
'

through the Cavalry school. It will be seen
that this branch of instruction is by no means

Transvaal, reconnoitring the Doornberg and
surrounding country. Nothing was seen of
the enemy who had, according to the natives,
trekked northwards. We retired at nightfall

neglected, while it can be safely said that the
.oﬁicers'aud

non-commissioned ofﬁcers will

always render good account of themselves, as
regards all the other things they were
taught.
Though the system of instruction at the
Cavalry school is excellent, there is, in my
opinion, one thing lacking, that is, they do
not seem to make such good instructors of
the non-commissioned oﬂicers as they did at
the old Canterbury school, where they had all
the Canterbury Depiit recruits to work on.
No doubt 'the non-commissioned olﬁcers

have athorough theoretical knowledge of all
that is required, but when they are asked
10 put it into practice, a good many of them
fail. Theoretical knowledge is an excellent
thing, but when it cannot be applied, it is
useless, “an ounce of practice is worth a
pound of theory.3’ The regiments in India
are certainly losing agood deal .by not having
tneir men put through a school of this de-

scription.

-

lfit were possible, 1 think that a school,
run on the same lines as Netheravon, should
be established in India, where both British
and Native non-commissioned oﬂicers could

be trained. I am sure that the beneﬁt reaped

and bivouacked on the Natal side of the river.
During a night march, on the 2nd instant,
news of the death of Captain Hardman Was
quietly passed along the ‘column. He was the
ofﬁcer who saved the trumpeter during the
action at Rustenburg, mentioned in a previous letter, and escaped the bullets there,

only to fall a victim to enteric‘fever. His death
is a great loss to the regimen t, and is deeply
regretted by all ranks]
.
We arrived here (Ingagane) on the 4th instant, having experienced a fairly rough time

since leaving
frosty

Blauwbank : bivouacking in

weather with one blanket is

means a luxury, and a

prolonged

tinned beef and biscuit washed

by

no

course of

down

with

muddy water gets monotonous, so our satisfac-

tion at ﬁnding a well-stocked canteen—belonging to the Devons who are camped here—can

better be imagined than described. Ingagane being on the railway line, which has
been repaired up to this point by temporary
bridges, we get supplies of fresh meat,
potatoes and bread. We also came into touch
with our tents again, so that life here by com—
parison is quite luxurious.

You will see by the map that we have the
Orange Free State and the Transvaal on our
ﬂanks, bounded by the Drakensberg mountains and Buffalo river respectively, each‘
about twenty miles away, and consequently
‘
within striking distance.
From one of our outposts, an isolated hill
called Impompango, tive miles from camp, a
splendid view is obtained of the Drakensbergy
Majuba, the Ingogo heights, and the town ‘of
Newcastle.
About the 20th, 30,000 Boers were reported
at Brandon’s Pass (Drakensberg). This has
stirred our little garrison up Our force consists of six troops of the ltoyals, four companies Devons, and two guns, about six hun»
dred men all told. Of the remainder of the
regiment, one squadron is at Rooi Pyn‘t (a hill
six miles north), one troop at Dannhauser
(ten miles south) and one troopa few miles
north-east of this camp. The Boers on the
berg must be very cold. We have sharp
frosts at night, but the temperature rises to
80° in the shade during the day.
Besides the ordinary duties of patrols and
outposts, we have been engaged in paying
surprise visits to farms in search of rebels.
They generally swear they have never left
their farms, but they are brought in and sent
to Newcastle.
The Boer women are given passes to remain on the farms; they either are or pretend to be very wroth with Kruger, and say
the Burghers came down and threatened to
shoot the men and boys if they refused to go
on commando and ﬁght the English.
These Dutch farmers are a surly lot, and
profess not to understand English. However,
“ one touch of nature makes the whole world,
kin.” One of our corporals visiting a farm

with a patrol found a soft spot in one “ old
Dutch.” After the usual questions and sharp
answers, the corporal noticed and admired a
pretty child, the daughter of the house, and

99

EAGLE

and henceforth no patrol visits that farm

without receiving a. smile and a cup‘of coffee ."
A commando of Boers have been reported to ’
be at De Jagers Drift, Buffalo river, so now
we have them on both sides. Yet our patrols‘
have seen nothing. I wonder if anything of
this kind happens: hungry Kaiﬁr arrives
at British camp, rolls his eyeballs and, point-‘
ing to sbme remote paint of the compass, tells!
of Boers as numerous as blades of grass. gets
a good feed, and departs quite pleased with:
himself. On his way to his ancestral kraal
he meetssome of his blood-relations and tellsthem of “plenty good scoff,” and presently
somemore dusky “scouts " arrive at the
outposts, rubbing their “drums” with a
smile of anticipation.
Anyway, patrols are constantly being sent
out twenty and thirty miles and return
weary, hungry, and thirsty, to report “ nothing seen.”
Yours,
OLnOL

Empire are directed to Kabul, the seat of the
Amir’s government in Afghanistan, it may
be of interest to review the military opera-

tions which have already been undertaken by
us in that country.

The political causes of the ﬁrst war must
be traced back to events which occurred
several years before, and which culminated

in

the ‘ Sikh forces under

Ranjit Singh

seizing Kashmir, Peshawar, and the provino~

es» on the east bank of the Indus.

Dost

Muhammad, who was Amir of Afghanistan,
was then engaged in civil wars, but as soon as
he was free, he invaded the Punjab in order

to wrest Peshawar from the Sikhs.

Having

suffered defeat at the .hands of the Sikhs.

gave her a piece of chocolate; this so pleased

be appealed for. help to the Viceroy of India.

the old girl that she gave ' the patrol coffee.

This assistance not. having been accorded,

100
Dost

THE
Muhammad threatened to

EAGLE

apply to

Russia. In order to avert the Russian danger,
India entered into an alliance with Ranjit
Singh, and declared war against Afghanis-

tan in October, 1838.
The campaign was carried out in two lines
of advance, the main army of 20,000 men con—
centrating at Ferozepore and moving on Kandahar by Shikarpur, the Bolan Pass, Quetta
and Chuman. The difﬁculties of this line of
advance, prior to the existence of railways,
was enormous, and by the time Kandahar
was reached, 20,000 camels had died, and the
strength of the ﬁghting force was reduced to
11,000 of allranks. Later on, 5,000 men march-

ed on Kabul aid Ghazni, which was captured
after a ﬁght. Dost Muhammad, on hearing
of the fall of Ghazni, ﬂed to the north of the
Hindu Kush.
After some time he began to collect an
army and defeated our troops at ParwanDara. A year later, a fearful insurrection
broke out at Kabul, and those of our oﬂicers
who were living with their families in Kabul
city, were murdered. General Elphinstone,

who was in command, was at the time prostrated by sickness, and the Resident, Mac-

Naghten, seemed quite unable to cope with
the situation. Treachery followed treachery
on the part of the Afghan rulers, and of the
4,500 troops and 12,000 camp-followers which
evacuated Kabu', and were permitted to re-

turn to India on January 18th, 1842, only one,
Dr. Bryden, reached .Ielalabad b‘ort on Janu—
ary 25th, with theawful neWS of the annihi-

THE

join him there. The arrival of the two forces
was simultaneous. Kabul was burnt to the
ground, and many ofthe British prisoners
were recovered. Among these was the daughter of the aged General Sale.
Finally Afghanistan was evacuated after a
loss of 30,000 men and 50,000 camels, and an
expenditure of £10,000,000.

When ,units had settled down again in
their peaceful Indian cantonments, events in
the wild country across our borders were
soon forgotten, and the Indian Government
seemed content with having thrown off the
terrible Afghan trouble. There was one

brilliant exception.

That bold, old ﬁghter,

General Nott, alone was not content. He demanded the complete subjugation of Afghanistan which alone would prevent a recur-

rence of similar wars. Subsequent history
has proved the wisdom of this ﬁne old warrior.
The second Afghan war commenced in
November, 1878, when an army of 35,000 men
moved towards Afghanistan in three columns:
by the Khyber, Kurrum Valley, and Quetta.
These columns were under the command of

successfully stormed the Peiwar Kotal on
November 30th. After crossing the Khojak
Pass, General Stewart (the late F. M. Sir

to Jelalabad Fort, and General Nott had remained in Kandahar, but the Ghazni garrison
.laad suffered the same fate as the Kabul

Donald Stewart) entered Kandahar Without
much Opposition on January 7th, 1879. Owing
to want of transport, our columns practically came to a. standstill until the 5th of March,
when, owing to the death of the Amir, all
authority passed into the hands of his son

Iorce.

Yakub

lation of the force.

In the meantime General Sale had held on

apolitical officer who was trusted alike by
the Viceroy and by the Amir. The Khyber
column, except two brigades, was now withdrawn to Peshawar, and orders were sent for
on the
the Kandahar column to withdraw
which
on
date
lst September, the earliest
Pass.
Bolan
the
h
throug
troops could march
the
treaty,
mak
Ganda
the
of
terms
the
By
or
us,
to
ceded
Kurrum Valley had been
so
,
control
h
Britis
under
rather, plaCed
remain in
to
d
ordere
was
s
Robert
l
Genera
his position.
ed by
On September 4th, India was appall
Cavof
Kabul
the news of the massacre at
force
e's
Brown
l
Samue
Sir
agnari’s mission.
Stewart
had been broken up, and General
rum
Km
the
ately
was in Kandahar,but fortun

GenField Force was in the Kurrum Valley.
hurried
Simla,
in
then
was
who
s,
Robert
eral
to the
off to rejoin it, after sending orders
and
seize
to
nd
comma
rary
tempo
officer in
Pass.
hold the Shutargardan (camel's neck)
of 11,500
This pass, which stands at a height
of sixty
ce
distan
a
at
Kabul
oks
feet, overlo
miles.
the
The Amir, having been informed by
been
had
s
Robert
Viceroy that Sir Frederick
hing
ordered to move on Kabul, did everyt

ﬁnally
he could to delay the advance, and
advance
went to meet Roberts liimSelf. The
and
1879,
mber,
Septe
27th
the
on
commenced
defeatreached Kabul on October 9th, after
on
ing the Afghans in the battle of Charasia
of
takin:
the
0f
t
acctun
(The
5th.
October
is
ia
Charas
of
the Peiwar Kotal and the battle
his
in
s
Robert
Lord
by
clearly described
in India.”
interesting book “ Forty-One Years
Military
This book is in our Regimental

aLibrary, and contains much useful inform
tion about Afghanistan.)

latter, undecided what

0f
The battle of Charasia decided the fate
isha
Kabul, and enabled Roberts to establ

Afghanistan, but General Nott totally ignored

policy to adopt, was finally induced to come
to Gandamak, and there arrange a treaty of

nications
temporary base there, until commu

the command, and, on receiving reinforcements, marched to revenge the Kabul mas~
sacre, ordering General Sir Robert Sale to

peace with us. As the terms of peace were
not fully agreed to by the Amir, a mission
was sent to Kabul under Sir Louis Oavagnari,

the Khyber
were opened with Peshawar via
the season,
to
Owing
bad.
Jelala
Pass and
snow, and
under
was
Pass
an
rgard
Shuta
the

Anew Viceroy ordered the evacuation of

Khan.

The

101

EAGLE

the Kabul Field Force, as it was now called,
was entirely out off from India. Of the many
difﬁculties Roberts had to overcome, not the
least, was the presence of the Amir,

Yakub

Khan, in his camp. Outwardly friendly, in
reality he was inciting the Afghans to resist
this advance, and sending out information
daily regarding the strength and movements
of our force.
Though the Afghans had been thoroughly
defeated at Charasia, they were by no nwmis
disheartened, and the ﬁghting round-Kabul
necessitated the Kabul Field Force moving
into prepared entrenched lines at Sherpur
It was not until December
on November 1st
24th that Roberts was able to open communi»
cation with Peshawar. On that date, hewas joined by General Charles Gough’s
Brigade, and the Afghan lash/cars dispersed.
During theSe seven weeks there had been
much ﬁghting round Kabul, some of which
had been in favour of the enemy.
The situation on January lst, 1880, was fairThe Kabul force was in
ly satisfactory.

direct communication with India by the
Khyber Pass Sir Donald Stewart's force at
Kandahar was being relieved by a Bombay
General Primrose, and
Division under
Stewart was making preparations to move on
Ghazni and Kabul, to release the for ce under
Roberts. The latter force was to move
north to operate in Kohistan.
Sir Donald Stewartleft Kandahar on March
30th and reached Ghazni on April 2lst, after
a severe but successful battle at Ahmed Khel,

ten miles south of that place

He reached

Kabul on May 5th.
In the meantime Yakub Khan had abdicat—
ed from his seat at Kabul, and had been deported to India. The country was therefore
in arms against the army of occupation, but
without a ruler.
Towards the end of July, 1880, it was decided to place Abdur Rahman on the Kabul
He wasanephew of Sher Ali and
throne

grandson to Dost Muhammad, the renowned

EAGL 1a

1113

'1‘ H E_ E A G L11)
Time will show whether he is able to con-

this ceremony, arrangements were in progress to withdraw from Afghanistan, when
news arrived of the utter defeat of General

trol the warlike tribes of his kingdom. Iris
to be earnestly hoped that in the event of a
3rd Afghan campaign becoming necessary

Burrows‘ Brigade at Maiwand by Ayub Khan,

it will be the last, and that the country lyinc:P

the brother of Yakub Khan, who had collected
an army at Herat.
Herat is 880 miles from

on this side of the Helmund river will the:

Kandahar and the strength of Ayn b Khan’s
force was prObably about 10,000 men. This
march, therefore, was a ﬁne military operation
culminating as it did ina signal victory at
Maiwand. Of the 2.500 men of Burrows’

Brigade at Maiwand 1,100 were killed.

The

remnant
struggled back
to Kandahar,
thoroughly disorganised. The only bright
feature of this reverse was the magniﬁcent

conduct of the artillery and 66111 Regiment
(now the 2nd Royal Berkshire Regiment).
After this disaster, Kandahar was in a
state of siege, and the political situation in
Afghanistan was again upset.
Owing to
want of t1ansport and paucity of troops at

Quetta, not to mention the inferiority of Bombay troops in those days, there seemed to be

no possibility of relieving Kandahar for some
time. At Sir Frederick Roberts' suggestion
it was ﬁnally decided to send the relieving
force from Kabul, and Roberts was appointed
to command it. In short, the Government
decided to evacuate the country, Sir Donald
Steward marching towards Jelalabad, and
Sir Frederick Roberts on Ghazni to Kan~
dahar.

Roberts left Kabul on August 11th and
reached Kandahar on August 31st.
The
following day he defeated Ayub Khan in the
13.1.1 tie of Kandahar, and completely dispersed
the Afghan army. This was the ﬁnal act of
the 2nd Afghan war. The troops returned to
India leaving Abdur Rahman the recognised
Amir of the country. Until the day of his
death he fulﬁlled the terms of his treaty with
us, in spite of some provocation on more than

one occasion. His son, Habib Ullah Khan,
now reigns in Kabul, and is not thought to
be as ﬁrm a ruler as his father.

be incorporated into the indian Empire for
ever.
WANTED l—COPY.
The Eagle has now been in existence for

over a year, and has so far been an unqualiﬁed success : but to make it continue a suc~

cess, it is necessary that we

should

get

contributors to its pages. What is wanted is
that more non commissioned oﬁicers and men
should write short articles on any subject

which they fancy and which interests them,
whether military, sporting, or personal experiences of any sort.
The paper is essen—

tially of and for the Regiment.
Some of 11s doubtless are shy at venturing
to become authors, but i do not think that
should frighten all. Everything must have
a beginning, and the greatest indulgence
will be shown by all readers to the aspiring efforts of their comrades. The Editor
is always available for advice as to any
subject and the suitability of any article
Articles can always be published anonymously, and the authorship is strictly conﬁdential.
There is an idea prevalent among many
soldiers that it is invidious to write, and it
is said that those soldiers who have turned

authors have been useless in the ﬁeld.

They

say, “just look at that old rotter who wrote
on ‘Strategy’ Whatafailure he was !" “Look

Egyptians? What about Caesar, probably the
greatest geneiai in history? He dashed
into p1int, and his classic lemains the standaid wo1k at school, as every schooiooy can
testify who has scratched his head 0181
“De Bello Gailico."
All through the middle ages few people
could Write except the priests, who wrote
all the histories. Even up to comparatively
recent times, few people could manage more
th-tn an illiterate letter ; even the great MariBut
borough could not do more than that.
on‘s
Napole
read
to
only
have
you
since then.
Works, Wellington's Despatches, Napier's
History of the Peninsular War, etc., and who
can say tint soldiers cannot write?
So many great soldiers have been men
of action all their lives, andowiug to c011tinuai campaigning have not had time to put
things down on paper. Take our modern
Field-Marshals Wolsey, Roberts, and Evelyn
Wood—ail these have written their own most
interesting biographies and other well-known
These show that they can
works as well
handle the pen as well as the sword, and bu t
for their continuously active lives and want
of leisure, might have done more; they all
had to waitiiii the close of their careers.
General Ian Hamilton also has shown that a
soidie1 can write and ﬁght as well.
There is an old and well-worn saying, that

Artillery, Volunteer or Colonial Corps was
the chief musketry event of the past month.
The conditions were that it was to be tired for
Eight
on 23rd Vlay throughout the Empire.
shots (7 to count and I “sighter ”) at 200,
500 and 600 yards—Ordinary Bisley targets.

average for forty men.
The Sergeants’ Mess Spoon shoots still
continue popular, two having been held since
the paper was last published. At the ﬁrst,
held on the lith ult, the winners were S. Q.
M S. Lawrence, lst with 85, and Sergeant
Allchin, 2nd with 80. A fortnight later witnesseda very keen shoot, three members
tying for lst place with scores of 81. The
extra rounds resulted in placing Sergeant

Ertriis

SERG'I‘S, ROYALS rs. SERGTS . D. L. I.
.1101;

Total .. 3,081.
This gives an average score of TT'Ol, which,
if it compares unfavourably With the best

was quite good. Cronin and Fisher scored
for the Sergeants, while Vanson (2), Whittingham, and Lockyer put on the points for the

Corporals.

WILD ANIMALS AND THEIR WAYS.
MUSKETRY.
The Empire Cup, presented by Colonel
Schumacher, of Johannesburg, for the best
team of forty of any Regiment, Brigade of

THE BHALU on BEAR.
There are many and varied ideas amongst
the uninitiated as to the habits and manners

of the inhabitants of the jungle. In this and
subsequent articles, the writer hopes to interest his readers with short accounts and
some true stories of wild animals. It is not
the intention of the writer to bore readers with
long extracts from books. The series wrll
commence withafew remarks about “ Bruin”
and his family.
There are ﬁve kinds of Bear found in India,
the Brown, the Trbetan,’the Himalayan Black
Bear, the Malay, and lastly, the Aswal or
Sloth Bear. The one we will discuss is the
Sloth, because he is the most common in
India
He is entirely black, except for a narrow
white horse-shoeon his chest and a white

snout, while his coat is long and shagg .
Bruin is most often met with in the Terai
(the jungle at the foot of the Himalayas) or in
the Central Provinces, where his favourite
haunts are among the low rocky hills. He
is also often found asleep in undergrowth and
thick grass, and even under a tree. The
young .3 ikari may have some difﬁculty in
tracking a bear on account of the similarity
between the footprints ofa Sloth Bear and
those ofa man. But if you look at them
closely, you will see that there are four where
there should be only two prints, while the
spoorof the bear is shorter and wider than
the printof a human foot.
The Sloth Bear is avegetable feeder, and

regards scorpions, white-ants and honey, the
latter especially, as great delicacies. He will
plunge his head, regardless of the stings, into
a nest and lick up the honey and small
animals, for his thica coat acts as sort of
armour
Bruin is not really malicious. He is rather
a stupid and heavy sleeper. If he is suddenly awakened and ﬁnds a man close to him,
he imagines he is being attacked and will go
straight for him. I thinkI may safely say
thatthe bear getting on his hind legs to

charge, is an exploded theory

The writer

has been charged, by bears on four or ﬁve

.. . ...-..._.-..\u.~_.‘ ,,

106

T H E

occasions, and has witnessed their behaviour
. quite as many times charging other people ;
there was not a single instance observed.
where the bear, in his charge, made the

slightest effort to stand upright.
Bruin seldom makes up his mind to ﬁght,
but when he does, he comes straight at the
intruder like a shot from a gun. The impact
very easily knocks a man over, and his face is

All communications intended for publication in The Eagle
should be addressed to the Editor. and should be accompanied by
the writer‘s name and address.
The Editor will not undertake to be responsible for any reject-

ed MS. nor to return any contribution unless specially desired to
do so. Accepted matter will be paid for at the rate of Rs. 10 per
1.000 words, or Rs. 2—8-0 per column. This is only admissible to
non-commissroncd ofﬁcers and men.

tains the charge for more than about ﬁfty
yards, although the author was on one occa.
siou chased for about three hundred yards.
Here are afew hints on bear-shooting which
the novice may consider useful. Never ﬁre

at a bear that is above you, on the side of a.
hill, for if he is wounded, or even frightened,
he will at once roll down to the bottom and
take you With him if you are in his way. Do
not take a snap in very rugged

country,

for if you only wound him, he is certain to nail
you.

He is always out of View when charging

over broken ground or in dense bush, while

you are ata disadvantage for
On open and level ground you
in any manner you like, but
white horse-shoe is immediately

manoeuvring.
can meet him
ashot on his
fatal A maga-

zine riﬂe I consider is almost essential, while
if you get into a tight corner nothing will avail

..
Subscribers at home. for six months
..
Subscribers in India. for SIX months
Ntn-commissioncd otﬁcers and , at Home

omcoOo

due to the disﬁgured faces of natives often

Transfers.

4.
_.
cousqu‘lﬁo

the part invariably attacked

Messrs. G. W. LAWRIE & CO.,
PHOTOGRAPHERS,
HUZRATGUNJ,
LUCKNOW.

(She Eagle.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 15TH, 1908.
MONTHLY NOTES.

The premier firm for Portraiture, High class, well finished picture
can be relied on.

Special Terms to N. C. Officers and Men.
Prices Extremely Moderate.
’We are also prepared to take groups at any time and place, and
guarantee good pictures.

12 by 10 Groups, Re. 1 each Unmounted, for 30 or more copies.

Since we last wrote a change, most welcome,
has taken place in the weather conditions. it
is a popular local belief that Lucknow for
some obscure reason is the last place in lndia
which the monsoon condescends to bless with
its revivifying moisture.
It is certainly
curious that, during last month, we bad news
of rain all over the country—Calcutta, Bombay, up into the Central Provinces, and later
in the United Provinces, eventually learning
that it had rained at places within a few miles
of every side of us—bnt no rain came to Luck-

The Lucknow Branch Closes from 15th April to 3lst October.

No. 7

Uhlans, at present ofﬁciating German Consul—
General in india. After the inspection the
regiment formed “three sides of a square,"
and Baron von Richthofen addressed them".
as follows :*
“Officers, non-commissioned ofﬁcers and
men of the Royal Dragoons,—I have the
honour to he commanded by myEmperor,your
Colonelin-Chief, to place this wreath on your
standard to commemorate the glorious day of
Waterloo.” Then followed the ﬁxing of the
wreath to the standard, which was borne by
Lieutenant Houstoun, and escorted by Sergeant- Majors Cope and Stuart.

now ! At last, however, when we were enrag-

Naini Tal & Ranikhet Branches Open from lst May to 31st October.

M Anderson Bros.,
LUCKNOW & NAINI TAL,
Tailors and

Breeches Makers

By Specral Appomt-

United Provinces of

ment to

Agra and Oudh.
H. H. the Lieutenant-Governor,
PRINTED FOR THE EDITOR BY W. S. MEEK, AT THE Ma'rnonisr PUBLISHING HOUSE, LUCKNOW.

ed beyond measure to read of Calcutta and
other places being flooded, we had a shower
here, but the parched earth did not take long
to absorb all the rain that fell, and the heat
became even more trying. However, two
or three downfalls have since added their
portions, with the result that the grass and
trees have taken a fresh lease of life, and the
thermometer has dropped some several degrees. lt is to be hoped much more rain will
fall, and so give Lucknow the opportunity,
which it hadn’t last year, of proving beyond
doubt that its winter is the ﬁnest in India.

The 18th of June last being Waterloo Day,
the customary ceremony of the presenta.
tion of a wreath by our Colonelin-Chief
took place in the early morning on the moi/an
behind the Oﬁicers’ Mess. Considering the
numbers away at hill stations, and elsewhere,
there was a remarkably strong turn out, and
the men looked cool in their white summer
review order. The ceremony was perform—

ed in the name of the German Emperor
by Baron von Richthofen, an oﬂicer of

Major Makins, Commanding the Regiment,
made the following reply :—
“Baron von Richthofen,—ln the name of
every member of this regiment, I have to
thank H. I. M. The German Emperor, our
Colonel-in-Chief, through you, sir, for thegreat
hOnour he confers on his regiment in crown—
ing our standard with this emblematic laurel
wreath on this great annual occasion. It is
in this way that our Colonelin-Ohief delights
to honour his English regiment, showing that
H. I. M. does not forget us, and at the same
time choosing an immortal anniversary in the
history of the Royal Dragoons, as well as in
the histories of the English and Prussian
armies. This 18th of June commemorates
one of the most decisive battles of the world,
won against the greatest captain of modern
times, and which also destroyed one of the
greatest military powers ever known, and
restored the balance of power in Europe. In
this battle English and Prussians fought as
allies, and it may be hoped that if ever again
agreat military state wantonly abuses the

On the 26th ultimo, the birthday anniversary of H. M. the King-Emperor was celebrated by a parade of all the troops in garrison
This took place in the early morning on the
garrison parade-ground, and was witnessed
by a large number of sight-seers. The follow.
ing troops took part :~
The Royal Dragoons, “S” Battery, R. H. A.;
79th Battery, R. F. A.; 1st Battalion, Oxfordshire Light Infantry, lst Battalion, Durham Light Infantry; lst (D. Y. O) Lancers:

Sth Rajputs, and 24th Punjabis.
The batteries being armed with Q.-F. guns
there was no salute, but afeu-de-joz‘e was tired
by the Infantry, and the usual three cheers
were given.
Advantage was taken of the
occasion by the General Ofﬁcer Commanding,

MajorGeneral Sir Ronald Macdonald, to present South African General Service medals
to a few non commissioned ofﬁcers and men

of the 24th Punjabis, and the medal for Long
Service and Good Conduct to Squadron Sergeant-Major Wallis, Royal Dragoons, the
latter being warmly congratulated by the
General.
The Annual Regimental Dinner was held at
the Hotel Cecil on June 10th, and was the
usual successful reunion. The following were
prescnt 2——

Owen.
We learn from home of the acceptance
by H. S. H Prince Francis, of ’I‘eck, of the
chairmanship of the Royal Automobile Club,
rendered vacant by the retirement of Mr. C,
D. Rose, M. P. The post is by no means a
sinecure, and the association are doubly for-

tunate in securing as well as a valuable
ﬁgure head a good organiser and hard worker.

The recent Empire Cup riﬂe competition
would appear to have given a ﬁllip to match
shooting in the regiment, as this last month
has witnessed some half-dozen team matches
all of which, curiously enough, have been1
remarkably keenly and closely contested, and
have shown a marked improvement in shoot-

ing.
An account of the more important of these
will be found on a later page.
Colonel de Lisle returned from Simla, where
he has been staying on leave, on the 10th instant and resumed command of the regiment.
Major Makins has been granted 60 days’
privilege leave, and left for England on the
4th instant. The other officers who are taking
“ second-leave "are Major Hamilton Russell,
Captains Lambert, and Sandbach, and Mr.
Houstoun.
Captain Grant, returning from
leave, relieves Major Russell as U. C. detach-

Jump who returns thence to head-quarters.
Captain Burch is granted leave from 15th
instant to September 80th and proceeds to
Almora.
This month should see all first-leave ofﬁcers
back to duty.

HISTORICAL

RECORD

EAGLE

111

the province of Haina ult, and at daybreak on

the 10th of May the allies moved forward, but

By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(Continued)
Having passed the night in the ﬁelds
adjacent to the ﬁeld of battle, exposed to a
heavy storm of rain, the Royal Dragoons on
the following days marchedito, and encamped on, the banks of the river Kinzig, remaining there until, in the early part of August,
they advanced and having crossed the Rhine
above Mentz, they were employed in operations in West Germany. Nothing of importance, however, occurred, and in October they
began their march to Mentz, there re’paSsing
the Rhine, and continuing through the Duchy
of Nassau, the principality of Liege, and the
province of Brabant, they entered Flanders,
and reaching Ghent on the 10th of November‘
they again occupied part of the cavalry barracks there.
’l‘he campaign of 1744 passed without any
general engagement, and the services of the
Royal Dragoons were limited to pickets, outguards, and protecting foraging parties from
the attacks of the French, and in October they
returned once more to Ghent.
In April, 1745, the regiment left their
winter quarters, and encamped near Brussels.
The enemy assembled in force and invested
Tournay, the chief town in the province of
Hainault, when the Duke of Cumberland,
though vastly inferior in numbers,

to attack them.

resolved

His Royal Highness advanc~

ed, and on the 10th of May a squadron of the

Royal

Dragoons was

engaged

with other

troops in driving in the French pickets and
outguards.

Their army of 76,000 men, com-

manded by Marshal Saxe, appearedin order
of battle, formed on a gentle ascent, and protected by batteries rising gradually from the
plains near Fontenoy, a Belgian ‘village in

having much difficult ground to traverse and
ascend, the attack did not commence until ten

o’clock. The British and Hanoverian infan—
try pressed forward, and throughout the day
displayed the greatest valour, but the Dutch
showed by no means equal resolution, and
their failure occasioned the most disastrous
results. It was near the conclusion of the
action before the Royal Dragoons were called
upon to charge, when they advanced, led by
Lieutenant-Colonel Naizon through a hollow
way full of obstacles. and were exposed to a
destructive ﬁre from two batteries.
They
charged by alternative squadrons with all the
spirit and determination which characterise
the attack of British cavalry; but the Duke of
Cumberland perceiving that from the failure
of the Dutch,

and other causes,

it was im-

possible to retrieve the fortunes of the clay,
decided upon a retreat, which was conducted

in perfect order as far as the town of Aeth,
near which the army encamped.
The loss of the regimentin this engagement
was ﬁfteen men and sixty-nine horses killed,
Lieutenant-ColonelNaizon, Cornets Hartwell,
Desmerct, and Creighton, thirty-one men and
forty-seven horses wounded.
The allied army afterwards encamped on
the plain of the Dender near Lessines, and
subsequently near Brussels.
Meanwhile events of consequence were
taking place at home, where. on the 25th of
July, Charles Edward, son of

the Pretender,

James Stuart, landed in Scotland with the
determination of making a desperate attempt
to seize the crown, and judging the moment
favourable owing to the king’s troops being
so much employed on the continent. Several
regiments were immediately called to England, and among them the Royal Dragoons
who in the month of November, marched to
Williamstadt, and there embarked ;the sailing

of the ship, however, was delayed some time
by contrary winds, and several horses were

lost by the stranding of the transports.

112

THE

EAGLE
THE

Upon arrival in England the regiment form-

ed part Of the army assembled \near London.
for the purpose of repelling a threatened
descent of a French force upon the southeastern coast of the kingdom.

embroidered on each corner of the housing,
and on the holster caps the King‘s cypher
and crown with I D. underneath.

“ Glitters—Distinguished by gold lace; their

suppressed by the victory at Culloden, on the

coats and waistcoats bound with gold embroidery: the button—holes worked with gold,
and a crimson silk sash worn across the left

16th of April, 1746, the Royals continued in

shoulder.

The rebellion in

the north

having

been

the south at Windsor, Reading and Colmbrook, and had the honour of furnishing travelling escorts for the Royal Family. In July
one troop attended Princess Caroline to Bath.
On the 26th of December, 1747, the regiment
was reviewed by King George l[. on Hounslow
Heath, and during the ensuing summer of

1748 it was employed on coast duty in Lincolnshire, and in the suppression of riots among
the weavers in Lancashire. After the peace of

Aix-la~0hapelle, in October of this year, the
establishment was reduced to 285 ofﬁcers and

men, and in 1750 the regiment moved to Scot—
land.
In 1751 a regulation was issued relative to
the clothing and standards of the several
regiments, from which the following particulars have been extracted relative to the
Royal Dragoons :—
“ Coats—Scarlet, double-breasted.

without

lappels, lined with blue ; the button-holes
worked with narrow, yellow lace : the buttons
of yellow metal, set on two and two ; a long
slash pocket in each skirt ; and a yellow
worsted aiguillette on the right shoulder.
“ Waistcoats and Breeches—Blue.

“ Quarternmsters—To wear a crimson sash
round the waist.
“Sergeants—To have narrow gold lace on
the cuffs, pockets, and shoulder-straps ; gold
shoulder-knots or aiguillettes, and yellow
and blue worsted sashes tied round the waist.
“ Drummers
and Haittboys—Clothed in
scarlet coats, lined with blue, and ornamented
with Royal lace with a blue stripe down
the centre: their waistcoats and breeches of
blue cloth
“Guidons—The ﬁrst, or King's guidcn to
be on crimson silk, embroidered and fringed
with gold and silver ; in the centre the rose
and thistle conjoined and crown over them,

with the motto Dieu. at mom droit underneath :
the

white horse

in a compartment in the

ﬁrst and fourth corners,

and

l. D

in gold

characters on a blue ground in a compartment
in the second and third corners. The second
and third guidons to be of blue silk ; in the

mented with a yellow metal loop, and a black
cockade.
“ Boots—Of jacked leather.
“ C'Zoalcs—Of scarlet cloth with a blue collar,
and lined with blue shallon ; the buttons set on

two and two upon yellow frogs or loops with a

(To be continued.)

hive stripe down the centre.
“ Horsu Furniture—~Of scarlet

orna-

NAINI TAL LETTER.
clot-h ; the

holster caps and housings having a border
of Royal lace with a blue stripe down the
centre : the crest of England within the garter

July 2nd, 1908.
DEAR MR. EDITOR,
Your readers will doubtless be glad to know
how the band is faring at this delightful

113

summer resort. I am pleased to be able to
report that so far eVerything is well with
us, and we are eVidently appreciated by the
musical critics of Naini, if newspaper reports
and deafening applause go for anything. The
following is taken from the Lake Zephyr of
22nd April :—

Tournament and beat them by 5 goals to nil,

“ Few Hill Stations are so well served as
“ Naini Tal is in the matter of Music, and

to score.

“ that we are to be quite as well off as usual
“in this respect, in this year of grace 1908
“ may be taken as a foregone conclusion from
“ the fact that our local impressarios have
“ secured the very excellent band of the lst
“ Royal Dragoons who arrived from Lucknow
“ late on Wednesday night. The fame of this
“splendid Band has, naturally enough, pre
“ceded it, and we may well shake hands with
u ourselves in being so fortunate as to have
“such atalented body of artists under the
“ conductorship of Mr. E. Holt to minister to
“our musical wants.”
As may be imagined, this highly flavoured

bit of “jam” put us on our mettle. and we
determined the “fame " should suffer no
setback, if hard work and “ playing the
game" could prevent it. So far we have
every reason to believe the “ impressarios "
are not disappointed.

centre the crest of England within the garter
ona crimson ground; the white horse on a
scarlet ground in the ﬁrst and fourth compartments, and I. D within a wreath of
roses and thistles upon a scarlet ground in the
second and third compartments.”
By the above warrant a special arrangement of the loops of lace on the coat in a
trefoil pattern was sanctioned for the Royal
Regiment of Dragoons, and for no other
corps.

“ Hats—Bound with gold lace, and

EAGLF-

We are domiciled for the season in Edwinstowe House, alarge bungalow, situated on the
hillside. overlooking the lake, at a height of
some 350 feet. Our duties consist, of playing
two evening programmes weekly on the public sports ground (the Flats), and taking part
in any parade requiring more noise than can
he made by riﬂe ﬁre In addition, we are
expected to provide bands, large and small.
to supply the music at dances and dinner
parties, and are frequently employed in this
manner
With the great amount of practice
necessary we are kept fairly busy. but we
ﬁnd time for games of hockey, football and

cricket. We met Philander Smith College
“ B ”'team'in the ﬁrst round of the Hockey

only, however, to be beaten in turn by the

same school’s “A " team in the semi-ﬁnals.
St. Joseph’s College, the ‘cracks ’ of Naini,
beat us in the Rampur Football Tournament,
and later defeated our Manora detachment

team, who, however, had bad luck in failing
At the Regatta, held on the 29th ultimo, the
band played on the ﬂoating stand on the
lake, and from the applause which greeted
each item, the programme was much appre.
ciated. Corporal Dyer’s rendering of the cor»
net solo, “ 0, Dry Those Tears," was particu-

larly fine, and was loudly encored. At Lady
Elliot’s dance, at Hawkesdale, held on the 16th
ultimo, the band was congratulated by Lady
Elliot, who spoke in glowing terms of the

excellent programmes Naini Tal had been
treated to.
Not tl”e least remarkable event which has
taken place is the Band Dance which was
given on the 24th ultimo, being the ﬁrst band
hihOp‘ since Hounslow, 1898. The bungalow
was prettily decorated with drums,

hunting

and regimental colours, and over forty guests
attended. Trumpet-Major Nash made an
excellent M
0., being much in evidence
among the fair sex. We are holding another
dancekthe day after tomorrow.
One or two of the Manora Detachment have
been to see us, but we do not get many calls,
being rather high up in the world, and difﬁcult of approach 3 We hear the Detachment
are giving a “ sports and camp ﬁre” next
Tuesday.

You

about it,

Rain is plentiful

will

probably hear
here,

more

and

we

wish we could send some to you all who are

more in need of it.

I hope by the time this

reaches you. the monsoon will have reached

Lucknow. I will write again next month.
In the meantime the “ talented body of art»
ists “ send their good wishes—Yours truly,
“ ALLEGRO VlVACE. "

114

T H E

HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

by
COLONEL H. deB. de LISLE, CEL, D S. 0.
Introduction.

The difﬁculties constantly met with in
India in the management of horses are so
various and so unlike those to which we
are
accustomed in England, that some experience

is needed before the remount can be properly
trained for the ranks. This training does
not consist only in breaking the remount
to
saddle and bridle, but also to accustominO'
him to cavalry weapons, and to making
hi1:

steady in the ranks at all paces andoverall
kinds of country. Such preliminary traini
ng
can be successfully completed in six month
s,
or less, but to produce the muscular develo
p
ment necessary before a horse can carry
be—
tween ﬁfteen and twenty stone, and cover long
distances day after day under this crushing
weight, requires considerable knowledge.

experience, and time.

In India, imported

horses are liable to fever and other digest
ive
troubles if hurried over this training, and un-

less maintained in high condition during their
ﬁrst year of work, they may never recove
r
from the strain to the heart and lungs, and are
liable to suffer in the feet and legs. In consequence it is no unusual thing to ﬁnd many
horses, especially the remounts, in
the
Stables of a newly-arrived unit in India, want-

ing in that muscular

development which

should be considered a sine qua‘ non befor
e
the cavalry horse is capable of the endur
ance

necessary in the ﬁeld. It is not an exaggeration to say that the lack of appreciation of
these facts was responsible for our want of
mobility in the late war in South Afric
a
Where every mounted unit had, on an
aver,-

age, to be remounted entirely every six
months !

At the beginning of that campaign,

scarcity of food and impure water was
responsible for much wastage, but the chief
cause lay in the fact that our cavalry were
mounted on untrained horses which had never

EAGLE

THE

acquired habits of endurance. The- conse
quences were most serious in that the war

continued for two years longer than it need
have done. Had the Commander-in Chief,
Lord Roberts, possessed a well-mount
ed
cavalry, he would have been able to
make

use of it, as Napoleon did, before the battle
,
during the battle, and after the battle.
The
importance, therefore, of training the Caval
ry

horse to acquire powers of endurance shoul
d
be the ﬁrst aim of every ofﬁcer of mount
ed
troops.
Hitherto, in British Cavalry regiments,
the
training of the remount has been left
in the
hands of the Riding Master, whose
aim has
been, too often, to produce, in as short
a time
as possible, a well-broken horse capab
le of
being ridden safely in the ranks. Our
own
text-book encouraged this rapid break
ing, and
we know from experience that the
majority
of horses can be broken in six months.
In
England, the results of this injudicious
system
are not as noticeable as in India, where
all
horses require at least one year, and most
of
them two years’ systematic training
before
they are ﬁt to undergo the strain of cover
ing

long distances carrying eighteen stone.

an average of £45 for horses of ﬁve and over,
and send the horses to Depots. The horses
remain in the Depots for about a year, after
which they are issued to units. By the time
units reCeive their remounts, they are at
least six years of age and have cost the state
£160.
There are several objections to this system.
Before a remount is ﬁt for the ranks,
thoroughly trained to the endurance required
for strategical reconnaissance, two years’
systematic training is necessary. The remount is therefore eight years of age before

being fully trained. As horses of ﬁfteen
years and over are, with few exceptions, unable to stand the strain of continuous work,
the working life of our cavalry horse in
India is only six years, or ‘75 per cent of the
working life of-horses if purchased as “ four
year olds.” Moreover, to produce the required muscular development of a cavalry horse,
when aged, is far more difﬁcult than to train
the same horse at four years, before he is fully
grown. With A‘ustralians, this difficulty is
intensiﬁed by the fact that prior to being sent
to India they are unbroken and have never
been in muscle. To produce a gymnast or

ln

short, the cavalry horse requires the
same

athlete, a youth between the ages of 16 and 20

development of the muscles of the back and

would be selected. No sane man would attempt to train a fully developed man of over
25 who had never exercised his muscles as a
boy. The risk of breakdown would be too
great, and the result could only be failure.
The expense of the British Cavalry remount
in India under the present system is enormous compared to the cost of the Native

loins as a trained gymnast wants for his
arms
and shoulders. Perfect health is the
ﬁrst
essential in each case, but perfect health
. or
what is called high condition in a horse, is
not

sufﬁcient.

To maintain a continuous state of

perfect health all the time the muscular training is in progress, is what is meant
by horse
management.
THE REMOUNT.
In India, remounts are obtained in two

ways.

Native

Sillidar

their own remounts.

Regiments provide

These are usually pur-

chased at the big markets of bombay and
Calcutta, and are issued to squadrons for a

sum between £25 and £28. British Mounted
Units obtain their remounts from the' Remount Department. Purchasingoﬂicersgive

Cavalry remount.

This difference has only

been tolerated so long owing to the necessity
of maintainingin India a reserve of horses.
As, however, horses for Depots require at
least a year, and preferably two years. before
they are sufﬁciently developed to join the
ranks this reserve is but a ﬁctitious reserve,
and if ever relied upon, the same result
may be expected as occurred in South Africa,
where cavalry, mounted on unﬁt horses,

EAGLE

1-15

were unable to travel as far or as fast as
the Boers on undersized ponies. From the
above it will be seen that the difﬁculties
which squadron officers encounter on arrival
in India are such as require some knowledge of the country, the climate, and the
food-supply before they can be overcome.
Now that every cavalry regiment contains at
least one squadron ofﬁcer who has qualified at the Cavalry School, where he has
learnt the art of training the unbroken :emount, it is to be hoped that the Indian Government will adapt the Continental System
of remounting squadrons.
This consists,
briefly, in buying horses between 3% and 5
years old, sending them direct to squadrons,
but making very rigid rules regarding the
system of training. in Germany, for example,every squadron obtains l5 remounts
annually, regardless of requirements. In a
squadron of 150 horses, 15 are ﬁrst class re-

mounts of over one year’s service with the
squadron, and lﬁare second class remounts of

under one year’s training. No horse may be
drafted into the ranks under two years’ training, and then he undergoes a careful inspection, being tested in all the requirements of a
)avalry horse. Unless entirely satisfactory,
the remountis put back for a third year’s.
training. The Squadron Leader is responsible
at all times that he can produce 120 horses for
mobilisation, including his second year remounts, and has also a trained ﬁrstreserve in
his squadron of 10 per cent. and a second reserve of 10 per cent. still untrained. This
system is made possible by allowing the
Squadron Leader to cast and sell any unsuitable horse, in excess of the 15 average an nual-

ly. The proceeds of all casters sold are
placed in Squadron funds, and may be spent

in the purchase of extra remounts if required, or in any way beneﬁting the horses.
There is another point about the continental remount system worthy of notice. No
Cavalry horse is purchased unless the back
and loins are formed to carry weight. The

116

THE

EAGLE
'1‘ H E

,mportance of the weight-carrying conformation of the ribs and loins cannot be exaggerat-

ed.

chever well-bred and well-shaped a

horse may be, he should be considered useless
for cavalry purposes, unless short in the back,
well coupled, and round ribbed. A horse
with a back sloping like the roof of a house,
ﬂat-sided, or slack loined, may be trained to
win a race, to play polo, and even to hunt
two days a fortnight; but in the ﬁeld under
18 stone, he cannot travel thirty miles a day for
three days without breaking down from overstrain. I recently met a dealer in the hunting

ﬁeld who exports remounts to Paris, Berlin,
and Brussels. He told me he could never
dispose of any horse abroad unless his back
and loins showed no sign of weakness. The
very horse he was riding at the time, a blood
mare with excellent legs, he had taken to Paris
.a short time before, but had brought it back
unsold, because it was considered two inc/res too
long in the back.

In Continental armies, the Remount Agent
dare notbuy any horse deﬁcient in weightcarrying powers.
N0
Squadron leader
would accept such a horse, for he knows such
animals require 50 per cent more food to main.
tain in good condition, besides being unable
to do the work required of them even in peace
training.
We know from experience how some horses
in a squadron always look well ; while others
doing the same work and getting more food

are never satisfactory.

These are the horses

which should never have been bought. They
are not worth feeding, and are only suitable
for draft purposes. As Cavalry horses, it
would be far more economical to shoot them
all than to feed them, for the pace and length
of march of cavalry in the ﬁeld is not regulated
by the endurance of the best horse, but by the
staying powers of the worst class of animal.
In conclusion, it is far more economical to
pay £60 for 3 year olds and obtain a well-bred.

sound, and unexceptionable remount. than
to mount cavalry for half the price and to

lt‘AG L E

117

have 50 per cent of the horses with defective
conformation. In the German army the
best
horses are sent to cavalry, and inferior
horses
to artillery. Questioned as to this, aGer
man

ofﬁcer explained that even horses which are
not too well coupled can drag a gun, but none
but the best will carry a cavalry soldier on
a
strategical patrol.
(To be continued.)

“ ESPRIT DE CORPS”
If one was suddenly asked to deﬁne “esprit
de corps,” I think one would ﬁnd it rather
hard to give a satisfactory deﬁnition off hand.
What is it? It is—well, “esprit de corps,"

very hard to deﬁne exactly, somewhat vague
when you come to analyse it, but very real
and very substantial when you come to know
and appreciate it. Broadly speaking, it is the
invisible bond which binds every individual
in a regiment, oﬁicer and man to a regiment
and its traditions, and not only binds them
together, but links them up with the past and
its recollections, and also provides a further
link to bind them to future members and
possibilities for all time. It is quite sufﬁcient
to baa regiment to have "’ esprit de corps,” and
all the little things that are identiﬁed with
one’s own particular regiment, apart from

other regiments, are but small issues really,
but they help to make one’s own “ esprit de
corps” more comprehensive, more tangible,

more appreciated.

One is proud, and rightly

so, to think that one’s regiment fought at S!)
and so, or took part in such and such an
action, but at the same time one realises the

fact that other regiments also/took part in

colour or standard, and so

on,

and so on:

small things in themselves may be, not boasted about, but much appreciated. These
little distinctions have been earned in the
past, possibly as a reward for good work done
and as such are cherished. Nearly every

regiment has some little distinction of this
sort which they alone possess, and of which
they are very proud, and which is honoured
by all ranks; and all these tend to increase,
demonstrate in a tangible form and foster
“esprit dc corps ” It has been established
for many generations and long may it continue, for a regiment without “ esprit de
corps ” is something invertebrate and not to
be accounted of. It is nota thing you can
learn; not a thing you can teach: it is a
heritage acquired by right, the right of
belonging to this or that regiment. Whatever it is, and however one deﬁnes it, this
fact must not be lost sight of : it is something
very essential to the well-being of a regiment,

post.

Oneofour patrols, consisting of an officer
and six men, had a narrow escape of being
captured last week. They had crossed the
Buffalo River. and had gone a few miles on
theother side, when a scout who had been
left on high ground to watch the drift (a ford
orcrossing place), rejoined the patrol with
the information that a party of twenty

lmd cut them off at the drift.

Boers

Another party

was seen working round their left front, and
eventually they had to gallop for it and swim
the river.

and has played, and still plays, a very large

On the 11th instant Lieutenant Pilkington
was killed at Nitra's Nek. He was a promising

part in making regiments what they are, and

young ofﬁcer with a personality that won him

the service what it is.

the regard of all ranks and it was with a sense

P. E. HARDWICK, Captn.

of personal loss that we heard of his death.

Staying to tend a wounded brother ofﬁcer
SOUTH AFRICAN LETTERS.
INGAGANE,
3135 July 1900.
Early in the month we heard that our Army
was in touch with Lord Roberts’ forces and
that the railway was repaired and held up to
Elandsfontein. Having parties of Boers on
both sides of us watching for a favourable

opportunity of cutting the lines of communithese history-making episodes.
But there
are other things to be considered; things
which may appear small and trivial to the
civilian or casual observer, but which are
really of great moment to those concerned,
For instance, one regiment may have some
distinction in their. dress, something quite
different to any other regiment: another
may have the privilege of carrying an extra

We had a Corporal reported missing (Gare
rard) and subsequently heard he had been
taken prisoner.
About the 15th instant two mounted men in
British uniform were observed coolly sltet.
ching the position of our outpost at Tendega
mountain.
They were spies, and galloped
off on the approach of a patrol sent from the

cation, we have been kept busy all the month
with reconnaissance, patrols,and outpost duty,
On the second instant we went out to Utrecht
to locate the number of Boers in that town
and vicinity, bivouacked for two nights and
returned on the 4th instant. We saw and
exchanged a few shots with a party of sixty
Boers, who retired to the hills; heard the
total number then near Utrecht was 300.

at Rustenburg, he was
59m. to Pretoria.

taken prisoner

and

Released on the arrival of Lord Roberts'
forces, he was attached to the Scots Greys
with which corps he was serving when he
met a soldier's death, News has reached us
too. of the death of another ofﬁcer, LieutenantJohnstone 0f the lit-h Hussars who was
attached to the regiment up to the Relief of
Ladysmith. when he left us to take up'the
adjutancy of Gough's Mounted Infantry, and
was killed at the action at Alleman‘s Nek on
June, llth. We had a draft of 150 men of the
Reserves join this month to replace losses,
men invalided. an, and we are now up to full
strength again
The country round here
is one blackened area, where grass ﬁres have

been. These tires look very ﬁne at night. Last
week we beheld a magniﬁcent spectacle, a big

118

THE

THE

EAGLE
much rounder.

grass ﬁre swept along the valley and up the
slopes of Impompango untilit reached the top

broken up.

which expressed the pleasure the latter gentleman would have in seeing the Regiment again
shortly, as it was returning to England.
Hooroo!

We are now in mid~win1er, a perfect clim~
ate if one lived under a roof and turned
out about 8 A.M., but a triﬂe chilly under
canvas with several degrees of frost in the
early morning. It is quite warm enough in

the day time but the sun does not burn like
it does at Christmas.
We are daily expecting to hear that DeWet’s force has been captured or broken up,
they seem to be short of supplies, and released the Dorbyshire Militia, who came across
the Drakensberg to Ladysmith.
Ihear the latter, raw Militiamen though
they be, put upa jolly good ﬁght, sustainjug nearly a hundred and ﬁfty casualties, in
.an exposed position, and it was a case of
annihilation or surrender,
The Boers oi,
the other side of the Buffalo are still active,

our patrols being constantly in touch with
them.
The other night informatin came from
Newcastle that a large commando with a
big gun and six waggons were proceeding
south towards Inchanga Drift. Iwent out

with a patrol early next morning but saw
nothing of them, but a patrol of the Natal
Carabiniers were ﬁred on and hat two men
wounded atadrift further south (DeJagers).
They say the war is practically over, but

ﬁghting may last another six months before

but it is very

Roll on !

when the entire mountain was outlined with
ﬁre. Rumours to-day say that troops ﬁrst for
home will not proceed further up country,
but will move towards the coast, This is taken
for granted to apply to us. I hear the depot
is at Shorncliife, but that the regiment will
be sent to Dublin. I wonder! Another rumour sends us straight to India, but we consider this disposed of by a letter received by
an officer from an ofﬁcer at the War office,

The print of a. young male is

the commandoes now roving the country are
very like that of an old tigress,

Yours etc..
OL-OL.
WILD ANIMALS AND THEIR WAYS.
THE SHERE OR TIGER.
As the Wolf always played a prominent
part in the nursery-stories and fairy-tales 01'

our childhood, so the Tiger occupies alike
position in the folklore of the children of the
East. He is held by people of all ages in the
greatest awe and superstition. His whiskers
and lucky bones are treated as relics, while

if you have his claws hung round your neck
in a circle, or cover yourself with his fat, you

are considered to be safe from all evil !
There are four distinct types of the greatcat in Asia, Firstly, there is the Bengal tiger
which is the chief tribe in India, and the one
which I hope to tell you about. He is a large,
long-limbed, long-bodied, lithe and lanky
animal, and his coat is so shaded that it is
very difﬁcult to see him as he stalks through

the jungle. Secondly, in Persia and the Caucasus we ﬁnd the Persian type which is
conspicuous by its small size and thick coat.
Thirdly, there is the Manchurian tiger, whose
home is in the Hills of Korea ; he is characterised by his heavy build and short, thick
limbs, and more especially by the length,
ﬁneness and thickness of his coat. Lastly
there is the Transcaspian tiger, but of him
very little is known.
The presence ofa tiger in a district can
often be discovered by the marks of his claws
on the tree trunks, which he makes when he
stretches, but the easiest way is by the

“ pug ” marks.

The amateur shikari will

ﬁnd pugging very diﬁ‘icult at ﬁrst, but with a
little practice he will be able to gather as
much from the footprints as the experienced
sh‘ikari can. There is a marked difference be
tween the pug of the tiger and that of the
tigress. The print of an old tiger is very big,
and very square in shape, whilst a tigreSs‘ is

much bigger than the pug of a young female.
The tiger, speaking generally, is a solitary
and exclusive animal, and he is rarely to be
seen with the tigress until the cubs are well

grown.

It is not known how long the cubs

remain with the tigress, but it is certain that
they do until they are capable of killing and
providing for themselves. The number of a
family is generally about two, but I know of a
case, where a tigress and four well-grown
two-year old cubs were killed in one heat.
The share has a very varied menu, which
includes game, cattle and man.
The “kill ” of a tiger and a leopard are
easily distinguished, the former always com-

mences his meal from the hind~quarters,
while the latter invariably starts on the forehand. I think the theory, that the man-eating

tiger is old and‘worn-out, is open to discussion;
no doubt some old or wounded tigers become
man-eaters, but at any

stage a

tiger

may

become a man-eater. He develops great
cunning, and it is only with the greatest
difficulty that he can be got. He does not
conﬁne himself to human beings alone, but
varies his diet with game and cattle. Water

is imperative for the tiger, and during the
cold weather rains he becomes a great wan-

derer.

In the hot weather he is always in

his “beat ” near the water, and if he should
he killed, his place is almost immediately taken
by another one.
From the number of tigers that have been
killed, and from the different ways in which
they have met their death, it may be accept.
cd that each has a temperament of its own.
Some are found to be absolute curs, and to die
like sheep, while

others are

119

EAGLE

wonderfully re-

sourceful, at once assume the attack and die
ﬁghting, game to the very last.
The actual killing of the tiger can be brought

about in four distinct ways, Shooting him
from elephants as the “line ” advances ; drjv.
ing him, by natives and elephants, up to the

guns, who are posted in trees or on howdahed
elephants : sitting up over a kill, and walking
him up on foot ; sitting up in a mac/tan which
is generally a charpoi fastened in a tree, is

not very exciting, but it has to be resorted
to when it is not possible to get suﬂicient
elephants and natives to beat. The favourite
way in big shoots, is to form a long line of
elephants, with the flanks well advanced and
then to move forward slowly. This method is

mostly used in the Central and Southern parts
of India, and always in the Terai and Nepal
where sufﬁcient elephants can be easily procured. The best time to “ honk ” is in the heat
of the day, when the tiger will probably be
sleepy and less inclined to break right in front

of the line

“Walking up" is decidedly the

most dangerous and therefore the most exciting, but should you go to walk up a wounded
tiger, give him half an hour‘s start. In that
case, if he was badly wounded he will probably
have died, and should he have on y been
slightly wounded, he will have lost so much
blood and become so stiff that his charge will

not be very dangerous.

In

the swampy

Sunderbands of Lower Bengal, the shere
leads an aquatic life, and he may be shot by
walking him up on the side of the river or
even from a boat. A last word as to the best
rifle to take in your'expedition against the
tiger ; probably a double-barrelled 400 or '450
will be found the most useful, while a maga<
zine riﬂe, such as a '350 or '375, is very handy
in case of accidents.

SHIKAREES WE HAVE MET.
In writing this article, I shall endeavour to
describe personalities, which you, the reader,

must often have noticed in different people,
These traits are more or less noticeable,
especially in this country, Where a soldier’s
only recreation is “ sport.”
We will ﬁrst take the keen, stay-at-home

sportsman,

whose very atmosphere reeks

of the jungle. He catches you in an unguard.
ed moment, and relates thrilling adventures

. _ .,-.—....-_,_,‘,‘ ..

120

T H E

EAGLE
THE

and hair-breadth escapes, which are supposed
to make the hair of his listener stand on end.
Then as the tales lengthen, his voice grows

hoarser and hoarser, while he looks plaintively at his empty glass, which you eventually
reﬁll, more in respect for his imagination,
than admiration for his yarns.
Next we have the man, who suddenly
develops the idea that he is a born Shikarf’é.
He recruits one of his chums by alluring tales
of record bags and good khubhar. These two
go “on the tack," sell some kit, borrow
money, and by an instalment and promises.
obtain a secondhand gun of antiquated
design. Early one morning, after disturbing
the whole bungalow, thev trek out to the
scene of slaughter. We will not dwell on the
agonising day they spend, but only remark
that they arrive back tired, thirsty, and fed
up ;no game,

no cartridges,

and

only

bad

tempers and bruised shoulders for their
day's sport. They get what they can for
Next
their gun and vote shooting a “ bake.
we have the shz’km‘ bore, whose gun has always

“ not yet arrived " or is “at the makers “
He will borrow your gun and most of your
cartridges, and ﬁnally tack himself on to
your party, as his has “ just fallen through “
He becomes an absolute nuisance ; he frightens
all the game, and your party too, while the
whole day is spoilt by having to dodge his
gun. You continually ﬁnd yourself gazing
down his barrels, for he holds his gun in every

way except the right one.

Then at the end

of the day, after contributing nothing, he will

claim halfa douen of the best birds, as his
share of the bag. It is his ﬁrst trip with your
party, and you take care it is his last.
Of course we have all met the party, who
have had a splendid day, but give their bag

away, have it stolen, or who have dropped it
out of the claim. We listen and sympathisea
This
but keep our thoughts to ourselves
short article would not be complete without

mention of the

Dandy Sportsman.

This

im maculately-dressed personis always attend-

ed by dozens of servants and all the modern

inventions for comfort. One of his party has
a camera, and photographs our hero in every
sort of position, very much like the modern
(lay actress, Who seems to spend all her time
at the photographers. The Dandy always
has one special photo, {refer to the Lunch
Group. In this the party group themselves
artistically round the lunch basketzin the
background there are crowds of heaters and
elephants, while in the foreground are guns,
glasses, knives, and all the paraphernalia. of
war. They don’t shoot much, but they look
remarkably ﬁne, as all their friends in Eng.
land will tell you.
Last, but by no means least, there is the

Real Sportsman.

He is

ready to go out

anywhere, at any time, and in any weather.
He goes out with one object in view, 219., to
kill the game. As long as that is accom»
plished he is satisﬁed; not like the typical
Indian sportsman who always has "‘ I " and
"self,” in large type, in his mind.
Our

true sportsman will take a bad stand and
doa bit of beating too, if needs be, and he
is just as keen after a real bad day, as he is
satisﬁed after a good one.
The caricature sketch which will be found
on page 12] has been drawn especially for The
Eagle, and depicts the Royal Dragoon of today in the su m mer uniform of india attired for
Church Parade. The uniform is of white
drill, with helmet of white with brass

spike,

wound with a white pugrz'surmounted by
a quarter of an inch of black piping. As will
be seen the nether garments are built on the
same lines as the old serge overalls, though
not being elastic, the perfection of ﬁt of these
latter cannot be looked for. Wellington boots
and spurs are worn, and the short riﬂe, and
the bandolier complete the outﬁt
It may be
news to many that in this country, cavalry

carry riﬂes and ammunition to Church instead
of swords, a custom which dates from the
time of the Mutiny, when, it is said, the troops
were practically un-armed in Church when the
revolt at Meerut occurred.

DETACHMENT LETTER.
M ANORA CAMP, JEOLIKOT.
13th July 1908.

DEAR Eni'roa,
In spite of want of good sports ground and
in the face of many other diﬁicuities we con»
trived to hold a very successful sports here on the 7th instant. The camp, this year,
is pitched in a very out of the
way place. And we have no
institute touts, indeed if

we

had them we could’nt erect
them for lack of space! But are
we down hearted? No! With
the aid of picks and shovels
and a strenuous effort on the
part of all the detachment, to
the accompaniment of much
growling at the obstinate nature of the ground, we manag
ed to remove enough of the
Himalayas to produce something approaching a level. All
the events were keenly contested and the men appeared
to thoroughly enjoy the 0ccasion
As is usual, the cocktighting provided much merriment, even to the participants in spite of the scratches
and other honourable scars
they received. Waterloo could
have presented no more awful
conﬂict (m the famous day,
than did the vicinity of our
camp during—and afterwards
err—the Cockade Fights. Sq uadron teams of eight were entered, the four lighter men being
mounted upon the shoulders
of their heavier comrades At
the word “Attack” the "gait

EAGLE

the onlookers by the very serious and determined warriors who slashed and cut for all
they were worth. Victor and vanquished
alike seemed glad when the battle was done!
Owing to aheavy rain storm the Khud Race
had to be postponed. The selected course
was a supreme test of climbing. The race came oﬁ“ 4 days
later when, after a ﬁne display, the favourites, Corporals
Measures and Rising. were
beaten. The winners of the
different events were as follows :—
Su-Oid i}. Sword,

has rained every day, It is raining now as
these lines are being penned, and looks like
continuing, with an occasional pause for
breath. so to speak, for another month or so.
The latest reports show that the total rainfall
from January lst of the present year has
reached 27'96 inches,

compared with

tournament held by the Durham Light Infant
ry on the evening of the 4th instant, and the
two evenings following, The prizes were very
good ones, and attracted a large number of
entries, contingents from the King’s Royal
Rifles, Royal Scots Fusiliers, and the Gameronians coming in in forcefrom their respectWe had no representative,
ive stations.
owing to several things, chieﬂy that with the

10 11

inches for the same period in 1907. Last year
was an exceptionally, bad one in this respect,
but there is every promise of a record fall
in l908. The eﬁ‘ect on the country may be
imagined Everywhere the eye is met by vivid
greens.

1908.

band and detachment away, we are not strong
at headquarters, while our two best men,

Sergeant Sutch and Corporal Stratb, are at
present in the hills on leave, training for the
All-lndia Championship tournament which is
to be held shortly in Simla. With all the

Trees and hedges have put forth

other units in the station, as well as those we

new shoots, while the open spaces that only
a few weeks ago were quite bare, and inches

deep in dust, or split up with huge sun—cracks,
are now covered with a luxuriant growth of
grass. Further aﬁeld. the change is even
more noticeable, as well as of much more con-

sequence.

The present condition

of the

country under cultivation must surely gladden the hearts of the native farmers. Fields
that but a short while ago could boast n0thing more than a few Sichlyvloolring stalks,

may now be seen masses of waving, healthy
green crops
Itis hardly necessary to say
that, in spite of the several inconveniences of
Wet weather, the change is
all.

welcomed by us

The intense heat is no longer felt,

noted from other stations having entrants, it
was remarked by our older soldiers present
that such a thing could not possibly have
happened a few years ago, and was to be
deplored. The Durhams are to be congratulated on the success of their tournament

which produced some excellent ﬁghts, several
being so clOsely contested as to leave opinion
divided regarding the decision. Colonel de
Lisle, at the request of the ofﬁcer command
ing the Durham Light Infantry, presented the
prizes on the ﬁnal night, and spoke in warm

terms of the splendid ﬁghts witnessed, and
the generally enjoyable entertainment. We
understand several challenges have been

the

thrown out as the result of the close ﬁghts.

temperature rarely rising to 90:, the plentilful rain is a guarantee of a good Winter, foodstuffs will be cheaper,

and manwuvres will

be possible ‘.

There has been little or nothing in the way of
amusements in the station during the month,
the solitary event, we believe,being the boxing

Apropos of the above, we would suggest, as
ameans of reviving the interest in the na»
tonal means of defence in the regiment, that
a tournament be arranged early in the com—
ing winter. With the exception, perhaps, of

one open "courtesy ’7 event, entries could be
restricted

to

members

of the

regiment,

'r 11 1+:

11‘

EAGLE

arranged for weights which would admit of
the greatest number of entrants, without re-

gard to the correct heavy, middle, and lightweights. In this way men would gain confidence, and if they turned out well, as many
of them naturally would, there would be no
difﬁculty in arranging for their further tuition and training for outside events, and we
should, later, be spared the remarks of our
friends in other corps!

At this period of little or no sport much
interest has attached to, and much pleasure
has been, and is continuing to be, derived by
participants, in the game of polo, which,

hitherto the sport of officers

only, as far

as the regiment is concerned, has recentiy, through the, kindness of the Commanding

Ofﬁcer and Squadron Leaders, come to be
indulged in by non-commissioned ofﬁcer 3 and
men. Light-weight troop horses have been
selected, and for afort-night or more an hour‘s
evening practice was put in The ﬁrst games
wereplayed on Saturday, Sthinsstant consistingof “A" rs. “ B," and C’
"‘D Squad
rons, two slow periods each. Much was
not expected from the beginner players of
a game that admittedly requires more practice than most other games, but a very credit—

able performance was put up.
Colonel de
Lisle, and Messrs. Miles and Turner assisted as umpires, and coached the teams during
the games
Apart from the pleasure to

TH E

make up the ofﬁcers' sides when short handed, or give them practice games.
A most interesting addition has been made
this month to'gthe library of the Oiiicers' Mess.
This is a memoir of the late Colonel Frank

Rhodes,

which has been presented by his

sister, Miss Rhodes, Colonel Rhodes joined
the Royals in 1873 : was promoted Captain
in “<84, and in the following year received
his majority 011 the retirement of Major Ames.
He left the regiment shortly afterwards for
service in the Soudan, wherehegained a brevet
of Lieutenant-Colonel The book is charmingly
written throughout, and cannot fail to interest all who read it. To those who knew Colonel Rhodes it must bring bac'r forcibly the

charm of his personality, while to those less
fortunate, the work is full of instruction and
interesting anecdote. Few men pass a life so
full of adventure as the late Colonel, and few
leave so lasting an impression of good fellow.
ship and kindly sympathy. As more than
one General has remarked,

“ no expedition

could be complete without him," and certain

ly he saw more small wars during his distinguished career than any other ofﬁcer in
the army. In spite of the imperial abilities
and world-wide renown of his brother, Cecil
Rhodes, Frank Rhodes was by no means
overshadowed
His own personality was a
strongly marked character.
Without the
personal ambition to

reach

the summit of

players, the fact must not be lost sight of

fame, he nevertheless will be ever remember-

that there is no better

training than polo

for the handing of arms

mounted, while the

ed by his friends and acquaintances as a
good and fearless soldier, an upright, honourable gentleman, the best of boon companions,
and the staunchost of friends.

gooci done to liorses intellgently ridden,
in making them handy and supple, and inc-reas
ing their usefulness tenfold, is no less a point

It is to be hoped

In an article descriptive of the Internation'1Horse Show. held at Olympia recently, the

spoiting Yours- of lune ‘27 th contains the following ,’

obvious non-commissioned officers

and

-:.-

-:+

-:1-

:e

+1-

111-

men

will never reach a playing standard, but there
is no reason why a nu mbe'r of players should
not come along, of sufficiently good quality, to

ing to the nearest way, in Mr. H. A. Tomkinson of the 1st Royals, whose uncle, Colonel
Henry ’l‘omkiuson, commanded the regiment
when it was quartered in York in the good
olddays. Mr. Tomkinson sits like arock,
and stirrups evidently make no difference to
him. He lost one stirrup—for anything we
know to the contrary, he lost both at the inand-out jump—but he took no notice, and
was as close to his horse as ever when he
jumped the bank, a sufficiently formidable
Obstar: e.”
Mr. ’l‘oinkinson is at present undergoing
the course at the Cavalry School, Netheravon.

And there is a worthy representative of

the Tomkinson family, and one who looks
likekeeping up the family traditions ofadher-

lence, special interest attaches tothe work in
that the author is a friend of the regiment,
who, however, prefers to conceal his identity under the iiont-(le-plmne of “Scrap.” The
"yarns " are both grave and gay, and so
accurately depict

the

British

soldier, his

joys and sorrows, and peculiar humour, as
to make it apparent to all who read—and
know—that the writer did not obtain his information second-hand. Acheap edition of
the book, price Re. 1 post-free, may be ob
tained from any bookseller.
The engagement is announced in the Home

papers of Sir Merrik Burrell to Miss Coralie
Our sketch this month shows the Royal in
the costume worn during the summer months
for mounted drills and riding-school
it con
sists of cord Jodhpur breeches, khaki drill
si1i1 t, shilcar helmet, and ankle-boots and spurs;
a very neat, serviceable dress, and what is of
greater importance, one that is cooland allows
of much freedom of movement. We had intended continuing these sketches, but understand that readers would prefer photographs
of present day Royals. What would appear to
be of most general interest are photographic
groups of officers, sergeants, corporals, the
band, and squadrons
We would ask, therefore, that a copy of any such group may be
sent to us, and as soon as possible it will

be published with a number of the paper.
The reproduction of photographs for newspapers is a delicate process, and very expensive, so that we shall probably be unable, until
bigger funds adzuit, to publish more than
one large group with etch number. 'l‘his,
however, should be sufficient to increase the

saleo‘f the paper considerably, and so help
towards further additions being made.

the privilege thus extended to the ran r and file
will continue
Without proper ponies, it is

in favour of the innovation.

1'29

E AGLE

“A Cowaids V (3., and other Yarns of a
Military Flavour 7’ is a book which has recently become popular among readers who
care for faithful descriptions of soldier life
at home and abroad. Apart from its excel-

Porter-Porter.
in May, 1898,

Sir Merrikjoined the Royals
was invalided home from

South Africa during the war, and

resigned

his commission in October, 1902. The marriage is due to take place on the 14th instant.
The good wishes of all Royal Dragoons are
with Sir Merrik and his bride.
The following extract from para. 253,
Army Regulations, India, Volume II, may not
be generally known, and since it affects many
non-commissioned

ofﬁcers

now

serving,

should prove of interest :—
“Furlough to England on private affairs
“ may, if recommended, be granted to the
”following, provided no expense beyond that.
“ ofconveyanceis caused tothe State; that they
“have not registered their names for transfer
“ to the Home Establishment; that they will
“ not have less than two years’ unexpired se,._
“Hoe 011 letnrn from such furlough and that.
othoy do not belong to corps about to leave

“india, i11whichcise furlough Will {only be
exceptionally granted

5"

*

~

“((1) Regimental, waiiant and nonrcommis~‘ sinned ofﬁcers who have reengaged, and
“completed five years’ continuous service in
“ indie—for six months.”
That is to say, that after January next 2111

those of the rank of Corporal and upwards
who came out with the regiment and remained

l {i O

T H E

EA H i. la
in the country, have re—engaged,
and have,
at the time of leave being granted,
not less
than 2“} years’ unexpired servi
ce, may
obtain six months~ furlough to Engl
and, passage free, during the trooping season.
It must
be borne in mind, however, that only
a certain
number of berths are allotted to each Divis
ion.
these being split up proportionate‘y amo
ng
units, so that it is not improbable, in the
case
of a large number of applicants that some
would have to postpone their leave until the
following trooping season.

Major Steele has returned from English
leave, and resumed command of “ A " Sq nadron.
Lieutenants Atkinson and Miles also
are back to duty from leave in England. The
following officers have recently rejoined at
headquarters from leave in India :—‘LieutenA
ants Tidswell, Turner, and Watson, and
Lieutenant and Riding-Master Crowley.
Mr. Charrington, who has commenced riding at Poona, was placed second on Mr.

THE
ent districts. and transferred to
five different
stations! M ussoorie folks tell us
that the 17th
Lancers are pretty certain we exch
ange stations with them : they are in Meer
ut. From
another source we learn that M uttr
a is likely
to be our next station in relief of
the 15th
Hussars. Then with regard to mant
nuvres.
Rae-Bareli has been chosen for this
year's
camp, by many of our prophets;
but the
strongest and most probable rumour
is that

As the season, which is termed seVel'ally
trooping, relief, and drill, approaches, many
and wonderful are the rumours set afloat re-

Harcourt drove them out. but not until much
damage had been done to the town.
On the 51h of April, 175.9, the colonelcy of
the 1.eéﬁmenthaving become vacant by the

Of the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoon
s, contain-

deathof General ﬂawley, was conferred upon

arriving together at the same point, an attack

ing an account of its formation in the reign of
King Charles the Second, and of its sub-

now the 7th Dragoon Guards; and. in this
same year the establishment of the Six heavy

was immediately commenced. After a severe
contest the enemy gave way and retired upon
War-burg, where he was again attacked

camp

district,

in

January

next, and man-

oeuvre thence to Lucknow.
In any case, it
seems almost certain that mano‘uvres will be
held this season some time. somewhere I

HISTORICAL

RECORD

By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(Continued)

In 1752 the Royal Dragoons returned to

England, and were stationed at York, whence
1758, into Norfolk

year they moved into Kent.
Disputes having arisen between England
and France relating to the boundaries of the

British possessions in North America in 1755,
an augmentation of 100 men was made to
the establishment and alight troop consisting of three officers, one quartermaster, two
sergeants, three corporals, two drummers,

andb‘O privates, was raised and added to the
regiment on the principle of the light com-

panies to regiments of infantry.
War was declared against France in 1756,
when the French making preparations for a
descent upon the British coast, the Royal

garding possible and probable movements of

Dragoons occupied the maritime towns in the

This year is no excel).

southern counties until, in the summer of
17:37, the] encamped near Salisbury.

units and individuals.

tion to the rule, and already the regiment has
been despatched on manoeuvres to three dili'er-

Brittany, destroyed the

vicinity of Warburg, and reconnoitred the
French positions there with the intention of
attacking them the next day.
At daybreak, on the 31st of July, the Royal
Dragoons, under LieutenantColonelJohnston,
left their camp on the heights of Corbach.
and making a detour gained the left ﬂank of
the French army, and several other corps

they marched in October,

and 5 feet.

coast of

expedition under General Bligh, when a land-

we march to Barkacha, the artillery practice

and Essex, and in September the following

respectively. Two Black Bear, 8 feet 6 inches,

ing on the

80,000 French tioops, commanded by the
Chevalier de Muy. crossed the Diemel, with
the intention of cutting off the com mu nioation
of the alli<d army with Westphalia. The
Royal Dragoons with several other corps
were immediately sent forward to Liebenau.
under the Orders of the Hereditary Prince
Charles of Brunswick, and being followed by

The military strength of Great Britain
having been considerably augmented, His
Majesty prepared to act offensively, and in
1758 the light troop of the Royal Dragoons
formed part of an expedition commanded by
Charles; Duke of: Marlborough, which, land-

131

shipping and magazines at St. Malo. This
troop was afterwards engaged in a second

lowing splendid bag:——Four Tigers—.9 feet

in Baltistan, has the following to his credit:—Four Ibex—43, 40, 89 and 87 inches respectThree Sharpu—Qo, 25 and 21 inches
ively

EAGLE

V\\’Vair (ll’licc Establishment linolr.

ing being etfected in the Bale des Marees,
Cherbourg was taken and put under con‘
tribution,

when

a force under

troops was increased to

the Ducd‘

Sixty. privates,

and

the light troops to eighty-nine, .making a
total of 5th officers and men: and in the year
following the light troop was further aug.
merited to four ofﬁcers, one Quartermaster,
, four sergeants, four corporals, two drummers, and 100 privates.
ded
in the meantime an army comman

by

the Marquis of Granby had proceeded to
rvmg 111-C0n1u110.
Germany, and was there .se
Hessuin, land
n,
with the Hanoveria
lion

by
Brunswick troops, commanded

Prince

the main body, his Highness ad vanced

to the

and driven across the Diemel with great
loss, The Royal Dragoons encountered the
cavalry corps of the Royal Piedmont, and
acquitted themselves with their accustomed
gallantry
They afterwards charged a corps
ofSwiss infantry. the regiment of Plant‘i,
with great

bravery,

broke its ranks,

and.

after killing many of the men, took prisoners
twenty ofﬁcers and ‘300 soldiers: many of
the Swiss attempting to escape were drowned
in the Diemel Three troops of the regiment
followed the Marquis of Granby in pursuit of
the enemy across the Diemel and halted for

Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick; and in the

the night on the heights of Wilda;

spring of 1760 the Royal Regiment of Dra

three, havingr suﬁ'ered severely in the charge
of the SwiSs infantry, remained at Warburgm‘
lna generalorder issued on the occasion,
Prince Ferdinand declared that “ all the
British caval y
performed prodigies of
valour."
The Royal Dragoons lost in this action three

Goons, under Lieutenant-Colonel James John.
:ton,em‘33rked for foreign‘service, and land.

ing at Bremen, in Lower .baxony, on the 16th
the, army on"
and 17th of April, they ]Olne(l
nClpahty ‘01
PTi
the
in
,
zlar
Frit
r
camped nea
Lower Hesse, on the ‘let of the month, On
the day following they were reviewed by the
Duke of Brunswick, who was pleased to
al‘al108'
express his approbation of their éppe
shing,
rmi
ng
ski
vri
and
After much manten

The regiment ubsequently encamped on
the banks of the Diemel. and on the 18th of
October it was despatched towards the Lower
Rhine, forming a sep‘rate corps under the
Hereditary Prince Charles, which invested

'1‘ H E

a succe=sion of attacks, repulses, and charges

The allied army, after much mantnuvring,
took up a position in Western Westphalia on
the rivers Asse and Lippe, the Royal Dragoons encamping on the heights between
Illingen and thenover
On the 15th of
July the French attacked the troops under
the Marquis of Granby at Kirchdenkern,
when, to relieve them, the Royals crossed
the Asse by the bridge at Hans Hohenover,
to support the corps engaged.
After i
sharp action,the enemy was repulsed with
less: but the tire of the skirmishers was
maintained through the night, and on the
following morning the enemy renewed the
engagement with great fury. The regiment
was posted near Veilinghansen, and when the
attacking columns were repulsed, it advanced
to charge, but was prevented by the hedges
and marshy hollows which intersected the
country. It was subsequently employed in

were kept up until nine at night,

operations on the

Wesel, a town situated in

the

Duchy of

Cleves.
The enemy advanced in force to relieve this
place, and encamped on the i-lth of October
behind the convent of Campen
ing of the same day,

On the even-

after dark. the Royal

Dragoons and other corps advanced with the
intention of surprising

the

enemy in

the

night, butit being found necessary to dislodgea corps which occupied the convent,
the ﬁring which this occasioned gave the
alarm, and the troops immediately formed in
order of battle.

The action commenced on

the following morning before daybreak, and

in which

Diemel,

and

moving into

the Royal Dragoons took an active part and
they are reported to have “behaved extreme-

the Electorate of Hanover, it was engaged in
askirmish near Eimbeck, in the early part

ly well."

of November.

Two pieces of cannon and a pair

On the same night, marchinO'

E A G L E

Federal army as well, played an important
part. It is true that some European writers
are inclined to under-rate the cavalry work
in these campaigns on the ground that their
aetion partook more of the work of mounted
rillemen than of cavalry, as it is understood
in European armies. Those who condemn
the work of the American Cavalry on accountof the mistakes made on both sides during the
earlier phases of the war, due to want of
training of all ranks, expose their ignorance
of the work performed alike in reconnaissance,
screening, and in actual combat. Colonel G.
F. Henderson, the abiest of our military
historians of this generation, takes quite an
opposite view, and considers that we owe to
the Americans the present increased value of
European cavalry.
In his article on cavalry tactics, prepared for the [L‘ncyclt‘pmdzlt Britminica, Colonel
Henderson wrote : “ The American Cavalry, in
the beginning of the war, was formed on the
European model; but before long it became a
new type. It could charge home with the
In addition, it was so

133

formed by Stuart in 1863-64; none of a well contested Cavalry battle than that near Brandy
Station on 9th June. 1863 ”
Of all the cavalry leaders of that war, the
one who stands out in ability and daring is J.
E. B. Stuart, who commanded the Confederate
Cavalry from the death of Ashby to the time
of his own death in May, 3865
Educated at the United States Military
Academy at West Point which he joined in
1850, James Stuart was a marked character
among the other cadets from the ﬁrst General Fitzhngh Lee speaks of him at this
period, thus :—
“I recall his distinguished characteristics:
astrict attention to his military duties, an
erect soldierly bearing, and an immediate and
almost thankful acceptance of a chillcige to'
tight from any cadet.”
Another fellow-student describes Stuart
as a “ Bible-class man," but always ready to

defend his own right or his honour, and who
gained

respect

by

his

manly

pluck

and

endurance when opposed to better men than
himself.

of colours were captured : but at length the

through heavy snow to E‘oorwohle, it 6110011110-

sabre or the revolver.

Prince perceived that it was impossible to

equipped that it- could ﬁght on foot as readily

Before the civil war broke out, Stuart had

tered and drove back some French cavalry ;
and on the 9th of the month it had another
skirmish at Foorwohle, after which it went
into quarters in East Friesland.
(To be continued.)

and

already acquired some experience: ﬁrst,
against the Apache Indians, and later against
the Cheyenne warriors in 1857. During this

drive the enemy out ofa wood, of which he
had possessed himself, and the allied regiments having expended all their ammunition,
his Highness ordered a. retreat.
In this affair the casualties of the regiment
were heavy, comprising eight men and ten
horses killed, Lieutenant~Colonel Johnston.
three men and four horses wounded; Cap:
tain Wilson, and Lieutenant Goldsworthy,
Cornet Duffe and twenty-ﬁve men taken prisImers. It afterwards repassed the Rhine

on the 18th of October, and was cantoned in
the principality of Hesse, where the ofﬁcers
received orders to wear mourning for His
Majesty King George 11., w iose demise had
occurred on the 28th of that month.
In February, 1763, the regiment was engaged in an incursion into the French cantonments, and in several skirmishes With
the enemy, and in the spring a remonnt
joined from England.

FAMOUS CAVALRY LEADERS
by
COLONEL H. deB. de Ins”; C. 8., D. S, O.
V.

GENERAL J. E. B. STUART.

In the terrible civil war waged in America
from 1861 to l865, the military genius of
several leaders, as well as the gallantry of the
troops on both sides, have excited the respect

and admiration of all students of the History
of the War of Secession. Throughout this
protracted struggle, the cavalry of the Confederate forces, and later on that of the
*Journal of

[he

C(anaiy/nsia

Germain/.7

Hy

an

as in the saddle, and it was so armed

trained that when dismounted it was but
little inferior to the Infantry.
“Great cavalry combats. in which both
sides rode at each other, were far more
frequent than in any of the European cam»
paigns ; and the instances of cavalry charging
disinfantry are so numerous as to completely
American
the
that
belief
prove the common
horsemen were merely mounted infantry.
true
The truth is, the Americans struck the
dismounted
and
shock
balance between
of
action. So brilliant were the achievements
that
Confederate,
the cavalry, Federal and
to
they have tended, in a certain measure,
obscure the work of other arms.
in*‘ lt may be said that there is no liner
ar my by
stance of a pursuit than that of Lee‘s
impene‘
Sheridan in l865 : none of a screen,

than that
trable even by a vigorous enemy,

period of his life, in the lst Cavalry, he came
under the notice of Colonel Robert E Leg7

win a few years later commanded the confederate forces, when the mutual respect of
these too famous soldiers was cementedin
many hard-fought lights.
.11

March. 186:,

when war wasimminent.

Lieutenant Stuart decided he must throw in
his lot with his own State of Virginia, and
forwarded to the War Department his resig~
nation as an ofﬁcer of the United States army.
He then proceeded to Richmond,

Virginia, to

otter his services in defence of h!s native
state

in May, i861, he was ordered to report himself to Colonel l‘. J. Jackson, now better
known as “ Stonewall " Jackson : and in July

Ofﬁcer present with the Army.

EL- 1 ._, ...._,

132

134

T H E

AGLE
THE

the same year, he was promoted to Colonel of
Cavalry. Two months later he was given
command of a Brigade, and within a year he
became a Major:General of a l tavalry Division.
Such rapid promotion at the hands of men,

like Jackson and Lee, is a standing record of
the remarkable ability as a leader of Cavalry
of J. E.

B.

Stuart,

who

was known

by

his

troop as “Jeb " Stuart.
In a letter to President Davis, General
Johnston recommended Stuart for promotion
in the following terms: " He is a rare man,
wonderfully endowed by nature with the
qualities necessary for an officer of Light
Oamlry. Oalni, ﬁrm, acute, active, and enterprising. }. know of no one more competent
than he to estimate occurrences before him
at their true value. ”
In spite of the numerous

battles and en-

gagements in whichStuart-‘s cavalry were sucCCszul, it is, perhaps, his famous reconnais
sauces by which Stuart is best known. The
ﬁrst of these remarkable raids occurred from
the lath to the .5th June, 1&62, when Stuart
led his brigade, including artillery, round the
right of McGlellan’s armythen inv :sting Rich—
mond, passing across his communications and
returning by his left to Richmond. The object
Of this reconnaissance was primarily to gain
intelligence of the enemy‘s

movements,

and

to ﬁnd out if there was “any indication of
a movement towards their right (north).
Stuart’s force consisted of 1,200 cavalry and
two guns."
Starting

from

Richmond,

Stuart

moved

north in order to create the impression that
his force was destined to reinforce Jackson
and it was not until the following day that he
,- immunicated

his

plans to his regimental

commanders. As soon as he turned east, he
encountered opposition, but brushing this

he decided that the bold course of pushing on
round the Federal camps was the less risky
alternative. ln pursuing the latter course he
had to cross the River Chickahominy, now
swol~
len by recent rains, and the force was delayed
some seven hours before the crossing
was
effected, only just in time to avoid an attack
from the Federal troops which had collecte
d
on the north bank. The ('reatest perils
of
the expedition were new safely passed, and

cellor’sville, Lee appears to have made his one

mount his cavalry, and upset all the plans of

known as the Wilderness campaign, in which
Stuart met his death. The enemy charged
and captured his battery, driving back the
left portion of his cavalry in disorder
Stuart
personally rallied about eighty men, and with
these he ﬁred into the ﬂank and rear of
the Federal squadrons as they passed his
position in advancing and when driven back
by a counter-charge of the ﬁrst Virginia cavalry. As they retired, one man, who had lost
his horse and was running on foot, turned as
he passed the General, and ﬁring his pistol,
inﬂicted the fatal wound.
That Stuart’s loss was irreparable to the
confederates, was the opinion of all. General
Jones, who had been put under arrest and
removed from the command of his brigade
by Stuart, bears witness to the respect and
admiration in which he held his former lead-

its return journey to Richmond. The results
\iere iinpot taut. The information obtained
in
this reconnaissance was most valuable, and
Stuart brought in with him to Richmond 105
prisoners, 260 horses, besides having destroy-

the Federal army in Maryland.
The results of this second strategical reconnaissance roused President Lincoln to
action. He writes to General McClellan, the
chief‘of the Federal forces : “ Stuart‘s cavalry outmarched ours, having certainly done
more marked service on the Peninsula and
everywhere since. " Lincoln at once proceeded to organise the northern cavalry to enable
it to compete successfully with Stuart’s, and
from this time we see cavalry brigades and
even divisions meeting each other in the.

ed much stores, etc, of the enemy. The only

ﬁeld unsupported by infantry, each striving

the force had only tr avoid hostile camps on

casualty in Stuart's command was one ofﬁcer
From that date until the day of his death
MajorGeneral “ Jeb ” Stuart commanded the

to establish its superiority over the other.
Early in 1863, many cavalry actions were
fought and the best known of which were at
Kelly’s Ford and Brandy Station, between

Cavalry Division Of Lee‘s army, and every

'Culpepper Court House and the Rappahanock

killed.

report of this latter ofﬁcer brings to notice

the assistance rendered him by his cavalry
under their famous leader, of whom he re—
cords “ he never brought me a piece of false
information.”
in October of the same year, after the
Battle of Sharpsburg, Stuart’s cavalry was

enjoying

a well—earned

period of rest at

Charlestown. On the ﬁlth Stuart prepared
for another raid, selecting 600 men from each
of his three brigades. Again secrecy as to
the destination was observed.

paign which culminated in his defeat at GettysburghedirectedStuarttopassroundtherearof
the Federal forces with three cavalry brigades,
crossing the Potomac between the enemy and
Washington. The object of this reconnaissauce was to “ keep Lee properly advised of
the enemy’s movements. " Although Stuart
carried out his orders, this raid was strategicallya failure, At ltockville he captured a
large train of supply wagons intended for
Meéde’s army Encumbered by these and nu-

Ooncentrat

merous prisoners, his march was delayed,

jug at Darksville, this force of18,000
men
moved north across the River Potomac to
Chambersburg, from there to Gettysburg,
and returned to the Virginian bank of the
river by White’s Ford near Leesburg. From
Chambersburg, Stuart’s march is one of

his despatch riders on several occasions failed to reach theirdestination, and in consequence Stuart’s cavalry did not arrive in time

would have been of incalculable value.

. On the 4th May, 1864, commenced what is

er.

On hearing of his death, Jones turned to

their Assistant Adjutant General and said,
“ You know I had little love for Stuart and he
loss the army has ever sustained, except the
death of Jackson.” Such a testimony from
General Jones is of higher value than anything a friend could say. What Jackson was
as a leader of a division and an army, Stuart
equalled him as a leader of cavalry.

On May 20th, General Lee made the following ofﬁcial announcement of J. E. B Stuart’s
heroic death : —
“ Among the gallant soldiers who have fallen
in this war, General Stuart was second to
none in valour, in zeal, and in unﬂinching devotion to his country. His achievements
form a conspicuous part of the history Of
this army, with which his name and service
will be forever associated. To military

capacity ofa high order and to the nobler

to be of service to Lee at the Battle of Gettys

virtues of the soldier, he added the brighter

burg. In spite of the consternation he caused
among the Federal leaders, there is little
doubt that on this occasion his cavalry division would have been of greater service in
co-Operation with the remainder of Lee’s

graces of a pure life guided and sustained by

the most remarkable on record.

cumbered with artillery and captured horses
in twenty-seven home he had marched eighty

army than it

miles, and had forced the passage of the Poto-

sound judgment of Stonewall Jackson, who

mac river under the very eyes OfSUneriOp

had recently been killed at’the Battle of Chan—

Though en-

great error; of the war in not retaining his

cavalryat hand.at a time when its. assistance

had just aslittle for me; buttha’t is the greatest

river. In June of this year, when Lee was
making preparations for the Maryland cam-

aside he moved on to the Federal line of supply,

Finding italmost impossible to return b/ the
same route he had come, owing to a swollen

'135

forties. His only casualty was one man wounded. Besides destroying much public and rail
road property and captu ring many important
ofﬁcials, Stuart brought 1,200 horses to re-

destroying wagon trains, railway and tele—

graph lines, as well as stores of supplies.

EAGLE

river and to hostile concentrations in his rear,

was When detached on this

strategical reconnaissance.

Deprived of the

the Christian’s faith and hope. The mysterious hand of an allwise God has removed
him from the scene of his usefulness and
fame. His grateful countrymen will mourn
his loss and cherish his memory. To his
comrades-in-arms he has left the proud re-

collections of his deeds and the inspiring inﬂuence of his example”

137

THE'E'AGLE
THE
SOUTH AFRICAN LETTERS.
-

INGAGANE,

29:}. Au, ust, 1900.
DEAR M ,—
q
, From the- 8th to the 15th of this month
I was at Tendega with my troop on outpost
duty, quite a pleasant change from the headquarter routine. Quartered in a deserted
farm, we found ourselves under a roof for the
ﬁrst time this year. The ofﬁcer in command
had one room, the sergeants occupied another,
a third was allotted to the two colonial guides,

while a big room at the back accommodated
most of the troopers, the remainder living in
“ booby hutches ” in the garden. “ Booby
Hutch ”—derivation unknown, so far as I can
say—is Tommy’s slang for any sort of hastily-

EAGLE
of the building, leaving a gap of smouldering
grass, and a crowd of blackened, frizzled,
sweating, swearing men, and trembling

horses.
.
At daybreak the wind increased in violence,
and the charred remains of

the acres of

grass ﬂying through the air made things very
pleasant! At 11 A.M. the verandah “ went

developed an inclination to go on leave.
few hundred-weight

of

rocks

A

eventually

brought pressure to bear on this would-be
prodigal !
On the 20th, the Boers crossed the Buffalo,
600 strong, and drove in our outposts. We
turned out from camp, came in touch after

surrounding the house. We were awfully
proud of our villa. Certainly the windows

Hussars. We had one man killed (Pte.
Hancock) and one wounded and taken priv

were innocent of glass or frames, but
artistically arranged curtains of corn sacks
made a very good substitute. For furniture,
our tables were inverted “ bully beef " boxes;
chairs we dispensed with. Empty jam and
condensed milk tins served for drinking
vessels, and bales of compressed forage, a
mattress of hay, and a pair of wallets for a
pillow made a positively luxurious bed.
On the 11th instant, shortly after midnight,
the alarm was given, and we tumbled. out, to
ﬁnd, however, that a veldt ﬁre was the cause.
The wind was high and gusty, falling at
intervals to an almost dead calm, and the
long lines of flame came rolling down the hills

soner (Pte. Reynolds). I was with a patrol
scouting two miles to the right front of the
squadron, when we sighted a party of about
thirty mounted men on some rising ground
ahead. We were not left long in doubt as to

in front of us, ﬁrst sweeping Violently along,

force them back, and

then, as a lull came, burning steadily, looking

this period retiring before our main body,
Natives at
the Whole were driven back.
the kraals on the line of retreat, reported

with an occasional charge. Arming ourselves
with sacks, blankets, boughs of trees, etc., we

went out and fought it—at least that part of it
which threatened our farm. In this we succeeded, the ﬁre sweeping along on both sides

their identity, for before a glass could

be

levelled, aconple of bullets splashed up the
soft earth within a few yards of us, to be
followed by a regular hail as we galloped for
cover.

here

dismounting,

we poured ina

hot ﬁre and compelled the enemy to retire

from his position to another some distance
away, upon which we raced up to the aban<

doned position—a native kraal.
we were under fire.

All the way

Again we managed to

their main body at

ﬁve Boers being carried

away

by

their

comrades, either dead- or wounded. Our
casualties were two horses wounded, one
ridden by Pte. Creek being shot through

‘

-On the 24th, the Boers again crossed the
river, driving in the Duckponds post, and attackingTendega post. They opened ﬁre on
the latter place at 830 A.M. from a fine commanding

by the board,” and shortly afterwards all
hands were hanging on to the roof which had

dences consisted of three rock walls, covered
with branches of trees and grain sacks. The
horses, too, were picketed within the kraal

for all the world like an advance of infantry

Badh‘a’m’s horse, who got a bullet through its

left ear.

six miles, and drove them back across the
river. The Natal papers say that twelve Boers
were killed, including the casualties in their
attack on an adjoining post held by the 13th

built shelter. In this case these detached resi-

the neck,'the bullet cutting awayaportion
of the breastplate, the‘ other being Pte.

ridge,

2,000 yards distant.

some

Thehandful of men in the farm behaved splendidly, and contrived to keep off the Boers
until the regiment arrived, upon which the
enemy, after ﬁring a few belts of pompom
shells, excellently aimed, but fortunately
doing no damage, hastily retired. On patrol
the following day the natives said the Boers
told them a great number of Englishmen
had been killed, and next day they (the
Boers) were returning to exterminate the
remainder. So far no orders haVe been
issued for funeral parties !
From the fact that posts of the 5th Dragoon
Guards and the 13th Hussars were simultaneously attacked, it would appear to have
been a general attack on Newcastle. We are
much more cheerful now that we are getting
some sport !
Yours, etc.,
OL~OL.

a record by a 22.6 inches fall in one month,
it has now rained four days without a break,

showing a fall of 12 inches, or 3 inches per
diem ! I hear Lucknow, too, is getting a
plentiful supply. Wonders will never cease!
The only sport going here is the six-a-side
football tournament, which has now reached

the semi-ﬁnal stage.

Our detachment team

from Manora were beaten by Sherwood “ A ”
team by 2—l,vbut the Band “A” team wen

their match, against the Y. M. C. A. after a
ﬁerce struggle,

extra

time

being

played.

Anglirg is becoming a popular pastime with
our men, though why it should, I cannot for

the life of me understand, as, so far, they
have caught little else but colds!
G

Our third dance of the season was held on
29th ultimo, and was even more successful

than its predecessors. The Indian Daily Tele' '
graph has the following 2—
“The Band of the lat Royals are enter“ taining their friends well at their resi“dence, ‘Edwinstowe.’ Their third dance
“ this season took place last Monday, and
“proved as popular as the former ones, for
"the members of the Band make capital
“hosts, and their dances are looked forward
“ to by all privileged with invitations.”
The Naiui Tal, Gazrtte is also kind :—
*

*

*

*

*

" The Band of the 1st Royals are becoming
“well known in Naini Tal as entertainers,
“and their dances, of which this is the third,
We look forward in
“are very popular.
“pleasant anticipation to another night with
“so many jovial hosts as companions.”
This Sort of thing ﬁres one's ambitions,
which may explain why our next dance is to
be held at the Masonic Hall, our own house
“Edwinstowe” being small. and unable to take
the gradually increasing weight on its ﬂoor.
By the way, if we develop SWelled heads, you
must attribute it chieﬂy to newspaper reports. Musical Progress contains the following :—
“ The 1st Royal Dragoons’ Band, under the
“direction of Mr. E. R. Holt, since their ar-

“rival in India, have done very well, indeed,
"’ with their musical performances, notwith“standing the difficulties always experienced
“after arrival in the country. Some excellent
“programmes were given on Empire Day
“ during the fete organised on the occasion at
“ Naini Tal, and much pleasure was given by
“theable performance of the very suitable
“music. Cavalry bands are generally popu“ lar at any station ; and the Royals has been
“ no exception since their arrival at Naini.”
We shall soon begin to think we are clever!
A few days ago the band was the recipient
of a present from Mr Corbett, of Naini Tal,
no less a gift than a baby-panther, then twelve
days old. it is too young to lap, so is fed from
it is already a
a baby’s feeding-bottle.
favourite with the men, is very playful, and
has made great friends with a kitten, but we
shall, I fancy, be feeling anxious about
that kitten in afew months‘ time. We are
glad to know the rain has made things more
With
bearable for you all in Lucknow.
salaams,

“ ALLEGRO VIVACE.”

THE

138

EAGLE

139

THE EAGLE!

‘i‘

L HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA
.
by

be» taken not to hurry the weak and backward animals. To do so, would be to break

COLONEL H. deB. deLiSLE, 0.8., D. S. O.

them down constitutionally, or produce
lamenessin the feet and legs. Although it,

‘

(Continued. )'
Training the Remount.

The art of training horses of every description lies in regulating the feeding and

werk in proportion to the constitution and

is desirable to keep a batch of remounts on
the same level in their training, it must be
remembered that forward horses must be
kept back to the more backward To over.
work the latter is fatal, and can only result

In other words,

in periodical visits to the

the horse must be maintained in perfect health of
body and limb in spite of

sick lines. One point must
he insisted upon—a remount leaving the Sick

the unnatural scale of feed—

Lines must on no account

In his na-

take his place among those
whose training has been
continuous. The folly of
such procedure should be
obvious, but unless squadronotﬁcers are careful on
this subject, remounts will
be found doing over~severe
work the morning after be-

strength.

ing and work.

tural state, a horse main-

tains himself in perfect
health

on

nothing

but

grass, but would soon lose
condition, the ﬁrst visible

sign of loss of health, if
put into even mild training

without

the addition of

muscleforming food. To
severely work a young
horse off grass, will as certainly break him down, as
to suddenly ﬁll him with
corn will destroy his powIt is
ers of digestion.

ing dismissed from hospital by the veterinary surgeon. It should be an unaltera‘ole rule in every

necessary to understand

the squadron leader by the

this thoroughly in order to
regulate the
work and
feeding according to the
strength of every remount
individually. With a batch
of remounts, it is no un»
usual thing to see them all

troop oﬂicer and his sergeant, and the orders for

squadron,that every horse,

on returning to duty from

hospital, he paraded before

the horse’s work and feedinglbe taken down in writ-

ing.

mount, it is wiser to re-

commence

its

training

from the very beginning,
as if newly joined.
The
time spent in this preliminary gentle work will be
time gained, as the horse

fed alike and all worked
alike. Without very competent trainers and remount-riders, it is diﬁicult

will not be likely to repeat

to arrange a separate scale
of work and feeding for
every young horse, and
hterefore more care must

In the case of a re-

his visit to the sick lines

within a month, as so often
happens from injudicious
Riding School, Summer Kit

work.

In India, with fe w exceptions, remounts are
totally untrained before being shipped. They
have never been fed on corn, and have never
been in muscle. When taken into Depots,

they are fedon a mild diet, and get a certain
amount of

work;

Even

remounts

from

full
Depots are quite unable to digest the
for
standard ration, or to carry a man daily
red.
over-ti
feeling
t
withou
walk
a
an hour at
remounts,
The work and feeding of new
mildest
the
of
be
therefore, must at ﬁrst
.
gradual
very
e
increas
the
and
description,
and the
friend,
best
t's
remoun
the
is
Time
trainer’s best assistant.
not be a
The ﬁrst object of training should
Soft
horse.
rideable horse, but a healthy
with
ed
combin
,
lucerne
food, green grass, and
to this end.
walking exercise, are the means

health and
Overfeeding or overwork, until

produce
strength are established, will soon
fever or liver troubles,

and it

may take

before a horse
months, and sometimes years,

really recovers from them.
covered, and
As soon as the remount is well
the training
coat,
carries a clean and healthy
n and the
duratio
The
mav be increased.

the capa<
nature of the work should be below
This will
bilities of the horse, never above.
and in.
health,
of
state
maintain the perfect
condition of the
heavy
and
muscle
the
crease
it is preferremount. During the ﬁrst year
given, and
is
work
slow
but
g
able that nothin
, remonths
at the end of the ﬁrst twelve
prize
of
ance
appear
the
mounts should have
four miles at the recattle, but be able to trot

per hour, without
gulation rate of eight miles
should be perfect
they
distress. By this time,
exercises, quiet with
in all the Riding School

as a hack at slow
all weapons,and be as perfect
setting-up
years
ﬁrst
paces. During this
of every
legs
the
protect
to
well
training. it is
secured
,
gaiters
polo
remount with numnah
broad.
inches
ﬁve
or
four
with an elastic band

band round these
It is usual to have a leather
far preferable
gaiters. Elastic is obviously
brushsplints,
the
to save the forelegs from

ing, and also from slight sprains which: are
inseparable from early training unless guard.
.
ed against.
The second year’s training should be devoted to fast work, jumping, and work in the
ﬁeld. If health and soundness have been
scrupulously maintained during .the ﬁrst
year’s training, no anxiety need be felt whengalloping work is commenced. Here again
the same principle must be observed: to in-'
crease the severity of the training gradually,
and never to allow remounts to be distressed,
During the ﬁrst year, horses should never
sweat profusely, as the object is to build up
In the second year, remounts
condition.
must be sweated, to

from soft ﬂesh.

produce ﬁrm muscle

When horses can drill in

troops at agallop for two miles without sweating or being distressed, and at the. same,
time look in hunting condition, they are well
trained, and ﬁt for the ranks. When the
same horses can carry a man in marching
order from six to eight hours a day, and keep
it up daily, they are ﬁt for service, and possess the necessary endurance of the cavalry
horse.
(To be continued.)

SERGEANTS’ MESS NOTES.
ing
We have to thank the Editor for allott
d
recor
to
which
under
ng
us aspecial headi
ants’
Serge
the
of
ers
memb
the
of
s
doing
the

Mess.

We shall.l am sure, always do our

to write
best to ﬁnd something interesting
, so to
uction
introd
our
being
This
about.
givea ~
to
place
of
speak, it may not be out
sur.
its
and
mess
our
of
n
brief descriptio
are ‘con—
we
as
ally
especi
more
roundings,

appointtinually being told we have the best
is a oneed mess in India. The building
by 50 feet
long
feet
150
low,
bunga
storeyed

round.
broad, with deep verandahs all

It

sting of bar
is divided into four sections, consi

. . u.........,..‘w,.‘_,,

1:410

THE

EAGLE

THE EAGLE

while on the west side are. two cemented ten.
nis courts, surrounded by a tall hedge, with

grass lawns for chairs, tables, etc. Frequent tennis At Homes are held here, and,
weather permitting, the members and their
wives and friends assemble nightly to indulge

in this excellent game, many of them playing
quite good tennis. The courts were set out
at our own expense soon after we arrived
here, and much of the present comfort, we
have the satisfaction of knowing. is due to our
own efforts. The interior of the mess is well

furnished and comfortable, no pains having
been spared to make it attractive and homely.
Photographs of old colonels and numerous
other “old comrades ”adorn the walls, re<
minding us that as smart as we consider ourselves at the present day, there have been

good cricket side, can put a hockey eleven into
the ﬁeld, get much sport out of our shooting
club ﬁxtures, and with bridge and billiards
manage to fully occupy our leisure. Occa~
sionally, small parties go out game shooting,
and now we are becoming expert polo players 1
We have just concluded at

Married

.

24

'
‘

E)
Total

‘ Nine tired—best eight to count The shooting at the last range caused great excitement
and the result was i n the hands of the last
two men to ﬁre.
The “unappropriated

blessings ”were victorious by a single point
The bridge tournament consistedcof seven
ﬁnished rubbers, the total points 01‘ each
rubber going towards the aggregate. The

married side lost by 1,228 points. "
The billiard tournament, consisting of
games of 150 up, shows the following re—

A spoon shoot was held on the 23rd ultimo
on the long—distance range. Distan ces~700,
900, and 1,000 yards. Weather conditions were
not favourable. Only ten competed, of which
Sergeant Allchin was ﬁrst, with 48 points.

“ SERGEANT.”
dicks were hopelessly worsted. The events
were shooting, bridge. and billiards, and the
results were as follows :—

Versus

21m dz 4'“! TROOP, " B ” SQUADRON.

Mr &. 3RD Tnoor.

Suits :-~

210,. M. S. Dight,

151" & 31w TROOP, “ B" SQUADBON.

“ D " SQUADRON.

[HQggOUIOOMNCFU-l

and abl'ution rooms, mess, dining, and'billiard
mom's, runhing’from north to south. On the
east side is the cookhouse, and alarge garden,

Total

.. 136

ing our record ﬁgure of merit. “D” Squadron were ﬁrst to ﬁre at the commencement of
the musketry year, and their 121 ofﬁcers, noncommissioned ofﬁcers and men averaged 206.
in C" Squadron, who followed, put through a
party numbering 113. Their average was
211. “ B” Squadron next exercised a party,
115 strong. and these ﬁnished up with the
ﬁne average of 221.
ii A” Squadron are now occupying the
rangeS, and are doing very well. It is noteworthy that out of 58 who ﬁred the preliminary course, not one failed to qualify. This

in itself constitutes a record.

.. . ...-.—~—..t....u..:u.

142

THE

EAGLE

There can be no doubt that the shooting of

the regiment has made great strides in the
last year or two, and is very evidently still
improving.
The Corporals’ Mess Riﬂe Club have held
four spoon shoots since We last wrote. The
results are here given 2—“C " & “ D” Squadrons

The present season of the year in Lucknow
is regarded by many as the most unpleasant,
for the reason that the rains having ceased,
the action of the unclouded sun in absorbing
the moisture of the earth produces a humid
atmosphere that is most trying. indeed, we
have already experienced this, for although
we are still favoured with an occasional
shower of rain the intervening periods have
seen a marked rise in the temperature, and a
consequent return of that most irritable
malady, prickly heat. Still, the fact that we
are continuing to get some rain is much to be

ward to this relief from the monotony of
barrack routine. With the good rough fare,
the open-air life, and the added interest
attaching to our profession, manoeuvres in
lndia is regarded more in the light of an

annual holiday than a period of harder work,
and this winter’s outing will be even further
appreciated, inasmuch as no camp was held
last year.
At a time like the present, when the, so-

called, unrest in India is mildly agitating the
political circles of half the civilised world,
and the English press is making proﬁtable

copy

No. 4506, Lce.-Sergt. Ratclifie, promoted Sergeant.

if the showers remain with us for another
month, when the comparatively cold weather

of our discontent will be made glorious.
Soon then will come the inﬂux of the detachments and the holiday-makers, and life will
be made more liveable with drills, manoeuvres,
race meetings, and the other hundred and one

this year’s manmuvres, but it is generally
understood that Rae-Bareli is to be the scene
of our winter camp which will not probably
last longer than one week, or a. fortnight,
Raeincluding marches there and back.
Bareli lies south of Lucknow, about three or
four easy marches’ distant, and is the neigh-

bourhood wherein we operated during our
ﬁrst manoeuvres in India in the winter of
1904-05. Rumour has it that we shall not
leave for camp until early in February next,
which means that we shall have our Christmas in Lucknow. Every one is looking for-

mongers, it is, perhaps, not altogether sur.
prising that our weekly letters from home
should be full of anxious enquiries as to the
condition of things in our immediate neighbourhood. Affectionate relatives and interested friends have even gone to the length of
expressing fears for our well-being! Such
enquiries and fears-only argue an inadequate

appreciation of the subject on the part of the
anxious ones. To the average resident in the
tight little Island of Great Britain, where, so
to say, everything in it may be reached by
merely extending the arm. it is doubtless
somewhat difﬁcult to realise that, apart from
the newspaper reports, the only unrest we
have any cognizance of, is of a purely personal
and physical nature, and is brought about

by prickly heat and mosquitoes 1

We believe

that in some distant parts of this vast peninsula, the police, the magistrates, and the
legal profession generally are having a little
useful practice afforded them by a certain
school-boy-babu section of the native community, whose chief aim would appear to he
not patriotism, but personal notoriety. But

144

THE

the native with whom we come into daily

THE

EAGLE

fearful

handsome silver tea set. Webb, who in the
Royals, held the rank of Squadron Sergeant
Major, Instructor of Fencing and Gymnastics,
left the regiment soon after its arrival in
India on appointment as Sergeant Instructor

apprehension of what would happen to him

to the local (Oudh) Squadron of the United

were the country to be differently governed.

Provinces Light Horse. We wish him the best
of luck in his new appointment.

contact knows little of, and cares less for, the
imaginary grievances of his agitator brother,

and did he give expression to his opinion on
the

subject, he

Would confess

to

The ﬁeld of politics is quite outside the province of The Eagle, and we make the present
encroachment only in order to allay all feel~
ings of anxiety in the breasts of our unhappy
friends at home 2
In an interesting letter forwarding subscriptions, Mr. W.
R. White, our late
R.Q.M.S., writes: “I went to camp with the
Westminster Dragoons at Eastbourne on July
15th, and with the exception of the ﬁrst three

days, we had glorious weather.
Colonel
Rogers, Colonel Mansﬁeld, and Major Pitt
were present, looking very ﬁt and well. Ialso
saw in Eastbourne No. 4628, Kirkman, who is

doing well in business there, and last but not
least, I met ‘old Stack,’ otherwise Stackwood, late Band Sergeant. During the summer I have met several old Lucknow friends
of the civil administration, notably Mr. Leach
of the Oudh and Rohilkund Railway, who is
well known to the membérs of the Sergeants’
Mess. He sails again for India on the 4th
September. I was very sorry to read of the

death of poor ‘old George’ Mott, and I
think your obituary notice in the June number
of The Eagle very ﬁttingly expressed.

I hope

the weather has not ‘ played you up ’ too

The last mail brought news from the Unit-

ed States of America of an old Royal Dragoon

resident at home whose addresses are known
to the committee will receive notices intimating the place and date of the dinner, and we
draw attention to it herein in the hope that by
so doing none will be left in ignorance of the
event. Mr. W. Finn is, we presume, again
acting as Chief Lieutenant to Major Balfour
on the committee, and he should be able to
give all particulars to intending diners. His
Head Porter's Lodge, Gray’s
address is :
Inn, London, W. C.

who would seem. since leaving the regiment,

to have had a somewhat eventful career. His
name is Pocock (better known as “Bosco”) and
his number in the Royals was 3267. In his
letter addressed to a present member, he
writes as follows :—“ * * * * How is the
01d regiment doing? I suppose sweating and
growling as of yore. I wish you would write

and give me some main particulars of the outﬁt
When I ﬁnished my time in the service I
came to the States, was two years with Buifalo
Bill, then quitted that concern and enlisted
in the U. S. A. Infantry, where I am still.

During the Boer war I was in the Philippines
chasing niggers, and am now back here sol-

diering in one of the ﬁnest climates in the
world, about four miles from Denver. My pay

We are glad to notice that the regimental
signallers, who, by the way, have been work-

ing during the summer months at Manora
Camp, are evidently still to the fore in this
particular branch of our profession. In the
reportof the Army in India, annual signalling
inspections of units, it is notiﬁed that the
system of competition for precedence among
units has been abolished, and. aﬁxed standard
of merit demanded from every unit in technical efﬁciency Several units are, however,
noted for special mention, and in this list is

the following entry :-v“1st (Royal) Dragoons
—commended.” We congratulate the signalling staff.

new pay schedule which passed this session
of Congress. When I left the army at home
most of the employers of labour wouldn’t look
at an army discharge, so I moved where they
don't want to see discharges.” Our old comrade has evidently become quite a Yankee.

G.

(“Cob ”)

Webb,

until lately attached to the United Provinces
Light Horse, at Lucknow, has been appointed
Sergeant-Major of the Southern Provinces

stand, by the H. T. “ Dongola ” on October 8th.
Mr. D‘Arcy Edwardes, recently gazetted to
the regiment, comes out in charge. We 11an
another new—comer in Mr. Wilson Fitzgerald
appointed still more recently to ﬁll the va.
cancy created by the promotion of Captain
Another

shortly

energetic com«

Army. and is to join the 8th Cavalry on re.

reaches

home,

the

turn from leave.

camund, the headquarters of that corps. Evi-

of which appeared in these columns, left

in Simia.

no doubt as to the popularity of the excellent scheme, and this year should witness
an even larger attendance. All old Royals

trip to Kashmir.

the former corps is shown in the fact that

will

mittee of the Old Comrades’ Dinner Fund will
doubtless be hard at work, arranging the

Eagle

Mounted Riﬂes, and has proceeded to Oota-

they presented him on his departure with a

vacancy

occur in the regiment, vice Lieutenant Hudson who has been transferred to the Indian

second of these annual reunions. The initial
dinner held last year in London, an account

dence of his popularity with the members of

home this

trooping season arrives in Bombay, we under-

Sandbach.

By the time the present number of The

145

Musketry, Pachmarhi.

Mr. Turner has pro-

ceeded to Rawal Pindi to join the Transport
Training Class. Mr. Charrington is still at
Poona, and has had a few mounts. His best
performance to date was his ﬁne riding of
Mr. Gred‘s Court Martial on which be secured
ﬁrst place in the Service Plate. On another
occasion he rode a dead-heat for second place,

whilst in the Grand Annual, he got second
place on Mr. Rube's Cbassepot.
He also
played for the Buccaneers in the Poona
Junior Polo Tournament, which team ran to

second place, being beaten in the ﬁnal by
the Poona Horse after a very keen game and
extra time.

Squadrons have commenced their annual
training, and are at present doing Riding

School, and troop work,

They are also being

practised at swimming horses, and these

last few days have put in an hour morning
and evening at the big La Martiniere lake,
making rafts, and trying various experiments
in connection with this difﬁcult but interest.
ing work.

HISTORICAL RECORD
Of the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, contain-

Our ﬁrst draft of men from
as a Corporal is 35 dollars a month on the

much.”

Sergeant-Instructor

EAGLE

leave
Colonel de Lisle is spending ten days’

Major Makins is off on a shooting
Mr. Atkinson is on leave

Miles
in Mussoorie until 15th October. M13
of
ol
Scho
the
at
se
is undergoing the cour

ing an account of its formation in the reign of
King Charles the Second, and of its sub.
sequent services to the present time.

By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(Continued)
Leaving their winter quarters in May, 1762,
the Royal Dragoons, on the 18th June, joined
the army encamped at Brackel, in the bishopric of Paderborn, whence they marched to the
heights of Tissel. The French, commanded

by the Marshals d’Estrees and Soubise, took
post at Groebastien, where, on the 24th of
June, Prince Ferdinand, resolving to attack
them, his army was pushed forward for that
purpose in several columns.
Leaving their camp at daybreak, the Royal
Dragoons crossed the Diemel at Liebenau at
about four in the morning and advanced upon

‘ -‘—~~s..~t,...

146

THE

EAGLE

the enemy’s camp with such address that the
troops were in presence of the French before
they had the least apprehension of an attack,
and being simultaneously assailed in front,
ﬂank, and rear, they retired in confusion,
leaving all their equipage behind them. The

Royals had advanced against the enemy in
front, and they were afterwards employed
in surrounding a division of the French army
commanded by General Stainville in the
woods of Wilhelmstadt, where several corps

“ A Monsieur le COLONEL JOHNSTON.”
Colonel
Johnston rose to the rank of
General, and was at ditferent periods Colonel
of the 9th Light Dragoons, of the 1le Horse
on the lrish establishment, the present 4th
R. I. Dragoon Guards, and of the 6th lnskil-

ling Dragoons.

He was also Governor of

Quebec, and dying on the 13th of December,
1797, he was interred in Westminster Abbey.

The General wrote a journal oflthe campaign
cannon of Cassel, when the regiment, retiring
a few miles, encamped near Boltzhausen.
During the remainder of ,the campaign the

regiment was employed in operations on the
Fulda, the Eder, and the Lahn, which were

of such success thata considerable portion of
territory was wrested from the enemy, the
allies also taking the city of Cassel. These
advantages were followed by a treaty of
peace, when the Royal Dragoons went into

quarters in the bishopric of Munster.
At this moment Colonel James Johnston,
who had commanded the regiment since the

7th of April, 1759, and, during the campaign
of 1762, had commanded a brigade composed
of the Royals and 2nd Dragoon Guards,
Queen’s Bays, received a most ﬂattering
tribute of the approbation of the Hereditary
Prince of Brunswick, afterwards reigning

Duke, who married the Princess Augusta,
sister of George UL. and who died of wounds
received at the battle of Jena,

on the 10th of

November, 1806, ii: the shape of a valuable gold
snuff-box embellished with military trophies,
and accompanied by an autograph letter of
whicthhe following is a copy :—
“ MUNDEN, la 17th de Novem'mr, 1762.

in Germany in 1760, which was obligingly
forwarded to the compiler of the Records of
the Royal Regiment of Dragoons by his
grandson, Major Johnston, unattached.
'
In the course of the winter of 1762, 63 ships

arrived from England to convey the troops
home; and the Royal Dragoons, commencing
their march in February to Wilhelmstadt,
there embarked, the strength of the regiment, according to the ofﬁcial statistics,
being 1Aofﬁcers, 3‘29 men, and 428 horses
with 24 servants and 38 women.
’
1 After their return from Germany, the regi.
ment was ordered to Scotland; at the same
time the light troop was disbanded and the

establishment reduced

to 231 oﬂicers and

men. Eight men pergtroop were equipped as
light dragoons and mounted upon small
horses for skirmishing and other light services, the remainder being mounted upon
large horses of superior heightand power.
in 1761 the regiment moved to England,
and an order was received to mount with

long-tailed horses.

On the 9th of May, Lieu-

tenant-General the Honourable N Seymour
Conway having for political reasons, resigned
all his military appointments, the colonelcy
of the Royal Dragoons was bestowed upon
Major-General the Earl of Pembroke, who

had recently distinguished himself in Germany.
The six drummers on the establishment
were, in

1766, ordered to

be replaced by

147

EAGLE

trumpeters, and on the 4th of May, in the
following year, King George III. reviewed
the regiment in Hyde Park, and expressed
his approval of their appearance and high
state of discipline
After the review they went to the north of
England, and ton the 19th of December, this
year, a Royal warrant appeared regulating the
clothing, horse furniture, and standards of
the regiments of cavalry, which contained
similar directions to those of the 18th of July,
1681.

HORSE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

by
COLONEL H. deB. de LISLE, 0.3., D. S O.

7

(Concluded)

Feeding.
ln lndia, the subject of forage is far more
difﬁcult to master than in England; but it is
one with which every officer of mounted
troops must be intimate, to ensure his horses
receiving their full allowance. Every horse
is entitled to a standard ration, which, if
drawn with judgment, is sufﬁcient for their

stationed in

requirements, but which will not keep them

Scotland; butin the year followingit returned

in condition unless Squadron Leaders understand the best scale of feeding for the different seasons of the year. For example, Australian horses require from lolbs to 181bs.
of grain during the manoeuvre season to

In

l769, the

regiment War}

to England, and after occupying various
stations in the southern and western counties
during the years 1770—72, it was again reviewed by His Majesty or the 17th of May,
1773, on Finchley Common, when, according
to the journals of that period, its excellent
condition and correct manoeuvring produced

the approbation of the king. princes, general
ofﬁcers and other spectators.
1n the course of the summer the Royals
again proceeded to the north, and making a
short stay in Yorkshire, they continued on to
Scotland, passing there the summer of 1774 ;

but 1.etul-ning south in the succeeding year,
the regiment, on the 21th of May, 1777, was
reviewed in Brigade with the Queen’s Bays,
on Wimbledon Common, by the king, accompanied by several of the young princes,
and attended by aireiinue of noblemen and
general officers.
In 1778, hostilities having commenced
between Great Britain and the colonies in
North America, an augmentation was made
to thear my when six sergeants, six corporals,
and 126 privates were added to the strength
of the Royal Dragoons, which,

with several

other corps, were encamped on Coxheath,
near Maidstone, and there reviewed. by the
king.
(To be continued )

enable them to do long and fast work. and to

remain fit. To give this liberal diet, the horses
must be mulcted during the months of the hot.
weather when a low diet is sufﬁcient.

The standard ration to which every Ans»
tralian or English horse is entitled daily, is as
follows :—
Gram
Barley
Bran

2%]bs,

..
..

..
..

5lbs.

. .

. .

2.1;;lbs.

Hay
..
..
20lbs.
Bedding
..
..
Silos.
The value of this daily ration varies in every
station, and depends on the contract prices
An
paid by the Station Supply Olﬁcer.
account is opened by this ofﬁcer with every
unit, on the 1st April, and the value of the
daily ration, multiplied by the number of
horses, is placed on the credit side each day.
On the debit side is shown the amount of
forage actually drawn and its value at contract
rate. Units are permitted to draw any kind of
forage in lieu 0f the standard ration, but are
held responsible that the account is not over-

drawn on the 81st March of the following
year. Any balance credit on this date lapses
to Government.
The questions which the

. _ ....-H.,.,Mwum

148

THE

Squadron Leader must decide for himself are
the nature of the grain ration he proposes to
give his horses, the quantity at different
seasons of the year, and how to balance his
forage account.

EAGLE

THE

balance is made up by remounts and unﬁt

Although the arithmetical calculation is

horses which are constantly employed for the
instruction of recruits. The ﬁve pounds increased grain for four months for a hundred
horses must be found by making some alteration in the standard ration, and this scale

simple, some experience of India, its variation
in climate, and the programme of the annual
training are necessary before a forage

enable the Supply Oﬂicer to provide for the
requirements, and to make his contract.

of feeding must be prepared in advance

to

tion of boiled barley. At ﬁrst Ylbs. of each
is a good allowance, with 21bs. of boiled barley

added to the night feed.

When bellies are

well down and hips are well covered,the ration
may be reduced to the normal summer feed
——61bs. oats, 4lbs bran, 11b. boiled barley.
In addition as much lucerne and green
grass should be given as can be obtained.
There is usually considerable difﬁculty in
arranging for a full ration of 801bs. green
grass, but when possible, half the hay ration
should be exchanged for green grass. The

scheme can be worked out which will give
the horses every possible beneﬁt. The ﬁrst
essential is to ﬁnd out the contract price of
each kind of grain in the standard ration, as
well as of the grain required for consump-

There is one means of saving money which
should always be resorted to when possible.
This lies in the bedding. Every horse is allowed 81bs. of bedding daily, and the ﬁxed

tion

weather, horses are quite as comfortable on
sand as on straw, and the daily saving in a

grass in most parts of India

squadron of 140 horses is 5340140 by Rs. II,
Rupees 14.

therefore get lOlbs.

For example, the price of gram varies

from Rs. 2120

to Rs.

48-0 per 1001bs.,

that of oats from Rs. 2—80 and Rs. 7-80
per lOOlbs. It is better, therefore, to feed on
cats in some parts of India, whereas to do so

In six months the total saving in bedding
alone would be Rs. 2,550, and the cost of sand
not more than Rs. 200. This alone would
provide an extra Slbs. of grain daily for a hun-

dred horses for four months, provided the rate
Having compared the prices of the various
kinds of grain, the Squadron Commandermust then consider the requirements of his

horses during the various seasons, having

does not exceed Rs. 380 per 1001bs
These calculations are dull reading, but it
is essential that every Squadron Ofﬁcer and

In the

every Troop Sergeant should understand the

Squadron, Regi—

necessity for economy in forage, and also be

mental, and Brigade Training occupy the cold
season from November to February inclusive. On the other hand, in Quetta, the train.
ing season begins in April. It is evident,
therefore, that the scale of feeding requires
careful preparation, and is dependent on the
training season and the value of each kind

able to calculate the best way of providing

reference to his training programme.

plains of Northern India,

of grain available. During the training season
Australian horses will require at least 151bs.
of grain daily, and even during the hot wea-

ther they cannot live on less than les. or
101bs. The problem is no simple one, but

for the extra feeding necessary during the
training season.
Itis not easy to lay down ﬁxed rules as to

how Squadron horses should be fed. The conditions are so dissimilar in various stations,
both as regards climate and prices, that
what is possible in one may be unsuitable in
another. There are, however, certain princi—

ples which may serve as a guide. The smallest
ration is required during the hot months
when severe work is impossible.

As soon

can be

as the training season closes, it is advisable

First of all it must be realised that only
110 horses in the squadron out of a total

to allow the horses to get into heavy condition,
or to use the term of training stables, to “let
them down ” For this, the best feeding is

of 140 are required for mobilisation.

half oats and half bran, with a small propor-

with care and some experience it
solved

The

149

EAGLE

equivalent of the standard ration of 201bs.
hay is 301bs. green grass, called “Dhoob”

Horses fed

with half of dry and half of green would
hay and 15le. grass.

Towards the end of the summer, horses
must be gradually brought on to the higher
scale necessary for the training season, when
the daily ration may be increased to :—
101bs. oats.
4lbs. bran.
2lbs boiled barley.
When actually at manoeuvres an extra
ration of 2le. of gram may be added with
advantage. Gram in India has the same
effect as beans or peas in England. Horses
in
are very fond of this grain, but if given
liver
cause
to
liable
is
it
ies,
large qualitit

troubles.
To those who have never experienced the
difﬁculty of maintaining Australian horses in
India, in hard muscular condition, the details
of feeding may appear vexatious. There is,
nevertheless,every need that this subject

should be absolutely mastered before a Sq uadron Oﬁicer can obtain good results with all his

horses. Horses with the correct weight carrying conformation can be kept ﬁt for service

without trouble, but as quite half of the horses
provided for the army in India are such as
would be rejected by remount purchasers for
continental cavalry, more care must be given
to enable them to take the ﬁeld.
When once the Australian horse has his

muscles developed, he compares most favourably with any class of horse in the world.
To obtain this development in aged horses
requires all the art of a public trainer. That
it can be done may be seen in any Cavalry
Barracks, but there, too, the many failures
are proof that our system of importing aged
horses is open to improvement, and also that
too much attention cannot be paid by all ranks
to horse management in India

“BEN.”
There was one pet who has hitherto escaped recognition by tbe biographers, probably
because, in the ﬁrst instance, he was little
known outside the Ofﬁcers’ Mess; and secondly, there is very little to record about
him, as his reign, owing to causes over which
he had no control, was short. For all that, for
a brief space he was a pet, and, as such,
amused our leisure hours.
In the Adjutant’s notebook I believe I am
right in saying that on March 13th, 1900,
there stands the entry "' Ben joined. ”

At that time the Regiment was at Sundays
River, and the manner of Ben’s enlistment
was thuswise. A patrol had been sent out
to a neighbouring farm under Lieutenant
Johnston who was attached to “ A ” Squadron. On return to camp he produced from
his havresack two small pigs. Now I won’t

go so far as to say that these were Kaﬁir pigs,
but they were certainly of the black variety
so frequently met with in South Africa.

Out of compliment to the owner of these
pigS, for a short time they were called“ Ben”
indiscriminately, but as one of the brethren
was considerably bigger than the other, he
was christened “ Big Ben,” whilst his diminutive brother, the hero of this article, became known as “Little Ben,” which was cur-

tailed to “ Ben," when a few days later “Big
Ben" went to swell the great majority, in

this case represented by the Little Mary’s of
the Officers.

_ ....».._...—,....,~..“,

150

'l‘ H it

for good and all, he undoubtedly left a
vacancy which his little brother was destined
never to ﬁll.

he would leave the mess sadder, but not
wiser, as he would do it again directly he
saw a chance, Pure friendliness I allow, but
Ben could never discriminate between when
he was wanted and when not.
Going into the mess one afternoon, I found

I admit that a pig is a peculiar pet, but Ben

master Ben thoroughly appreciating a nice

was an exception to the majority of pigs I
have known. He used to wear a light blue
ribbon round his neck.
On ﬁrst joining he stood about one hand
high, and he had a most sunny and cheerful
disposition. Even at a 4 A.M. breakfast- he

new cake which had just arrived for some
one from Buzzard’s. Oh Ben 1 little did you

There was no real sentiment attached to
Big Ben, as he could never have been called

a sociable pig.

Still when he had departed

was just the same, which was more than
could be said for some of us.
So unfailingly jolly was he, that he soon
bored a way into our affections, and the ﬂat
went forth that unless we were in emiremis
he should not be called upon to assist us at
dinner. In fact he was hedged round with
the same sort of regulations as an emergency
ration. Ithink, however, [am right in stat.
ing that there was an amendment carried to
the effect that the question might be brought
up again at Christmas time.
Ben cried a good deal when for the ﬁrst
time he found himself alone with human
beings, but being quickwitted he soon realized that he was amongst friends, and from
that day forward there was no holding him.
Whilst in his puppy days, his method of at.
tracting attention was to walk about under
the rabie and bite one's heels, but he grew at
such an alarming rate, that he soon forsook

this in favour of standing up on his hind legs
and grasping one’s thigh ﬁrmly between his
teeth. I must own that Ben frequently stood
in need of correction, but in

fairness I must

add that he usually got it when required. Administered in much the same way and place
as with other children.
If ever he could catch any one asleep in a
chair, he never failed to take the opportunity,
and would jump or clamber up and sit on
you like an indigestion. But on these oc-

casions Nemesis invariably overtook him, and

know or care, but that was very

nearly ad~

judged a capital offence.
Towards the end, Ben became rather a
travelled person, and did several treks with
us, disputing the best seat on the waggon
with Jemima; but travel was his undoing, as
one night we lay next to some Light Fingered

Light Horse, and in the morning Ben was reported missing.
We never had authentic news of his end,
but I fear that, unlike Saul and Jonathan, in
his death he was very much divided. [ironiescat in pace.

N.

. B.

SOUTH AFRICAN LETTERS.
R001 BYNT, NATAL,
27th September, 19v’l0.
DEAR M,—
You will observe by the heading that we

have shifted camp.

isi

TH E EAGLE

EAGLE

Rooi Pynt, or Red Point,

is an irregular-shaped hill, four miles south
of Newcastle. Our camp is on the northern
slope, practically inside the hill, which resembles a hollow tooth with a gap overlooking the
plains to the north, where Majuba Hill and the

running in all directions, are found on the
African hills. Our scouts entered Utrecht on
the 11th and released Pte. Reynolds (whose
capture I mentioned in my last letter) and
a Corporal of the 5th Dragoon Guards,
both of whom were found in the town
jail.
On the 14th, working in co-operation with
General Hilliard who was moving on Vryheid
from Utrecht, we crossed into the Transvaal
at De Jagers Drift, and came in touch with
Hilliard’s troops. We found the enemy in
occupation of the town, but they offered little
resistance and retired on being shelled. Vryheid being occupied, we returned here losing
Corporal Moore on mat": he was in charge
of a small pitroi operating on the din k of the
regiment, and was shot dead wailst passing
through some thick bush.
Since the occupttion of Utrecht and Vryheid, the Buffalo district has been quiet, and
we have turned our attention to the Drakens~
berg side. We madea reconnaissance last week
to Muller’s Pass. The scenery was wild and
grand, but as we had to dismount and prac~
tically haul our horses up steep and rough
mountain tracks, [doubt if the scenic part of
the performance appealed to the trooper
struggling up the rocks with a rifle, 200
rounds of ammunition, a full water-bottle,
two days’ rations in his haversack, and towing
a refractory horse. However, we all agreed
that the view from the summit- was splendid.
Nothing was seen of the enemy reported to
be in this locality, and we retired in the even-

ing, bivouacking at the foot of the pass.
Afew days ago we encountered our ﬁrst

Ingogo heights frown darkly in the back.

a
ﬂight of locusts, resembling in the distance

‘
ground.
We crossed the Buffalo early in the month
and joined the rest of the cavalry, guns, and
infantry at Umhana(a hill on the NewcastleUtrecht Road) on the 7th instant, and came in
contact with a party of a hundred Boers, who,
after a short skirmish, gave way and were
chased up to the berg, where they scattered
and escaped up the many Kaﬂir tracks which,

dark cloud, and closer, a heavy snowstorm.
The air was full of them and the ground be
came quickly covered as they alighted for rest
or refreshment. Our fellows were like a pack
of schoolboys, yelling with glee, and rushing
about, knocking down the pests with caps,
towels, jackets, or anything suitable they
could lay their hands on. The sport seemed

contagious, and quickly everybody in camp
took part, even the ofﬁcers joined in the
mad melee, and it was amusing to see usually
grave and digniﬁed officers behaving like
a party of Sioux or Apache Indians celebrating a victory over a neighbouring tribe They
have very pretty transparent wings (the
locusts I mean) which glisten in the sun like
silver, and the picture presented by tie swarm
which we saw would have caused an artist to
rave with pleasurable enthusiasm, though the
raving takes the character of the diametrically
opposite in the case of the farmer. who only
remembers that
They come like the rain of a summer shower,

And eat up a harvest in half an hour.

The Natal Volunteers are being disbanded
on October 1st, which seems a clear sign that
the war is nearly over. Our regiment is
somewhat scattered at present, one squadron
being at Van Reenan’s Pass, two troops at
Muller's Pass, one troop at Dannhauser, one
at Tendega and the remainder (four troops
with headquarters) here at Rooi Pynt.
About ten minutes’ walk from camp, there
is a wonderful piece of nature‘s work known
The entrance is along
as “ the Tiger's Kloof.
a valley with steep, rocky sides, and a bottom

The valley
thickly strewn with boulders.
narrows rapidly as one proceeds, and the sides
become higher with overhanging rocks, until
the explorer finds himself in a cut (Ze sw: with
the rocks towering up in a semi-circle some
iundreds of feet. rl‘he place is a veritable
beauty spot, and in times of peace is, I understand, much frequented by tourists and picnic

parties. A somewhat perilous climb brings
one to the top to level ground. This is said to
be the “ Lion's Kloof 7’ of Rider Haggard‘s
famous story “ Jess " which, I am told,
was written at a farm near camp, known as
Rider Haggard's Farm.
Yours,

0L. OI...

THE

EAGLE

THE
A CHAT WITH THE CAPTAIN.
“Well, Captain !

have you had a good

trip?" “Well, so-so, thank you, but my home
ward voyage was not too pleasant, and had
some tragic incidents. To begin with, we

had not left Bombay twentyfour hours when
a poor devildied from abscess on the

liver.

He was at the last gasp when he came on
board, but it was hoped that he would just
pull round. Then the day before we reached
Aden Iwas just going to dress for dinner,
when a passenger rushed up to me to say that a
second class passenger was walking wildly up
and down the second class deck. threatening to
commit suicide. I ran off and found the
man who appeared in a very excited and
mad state of mind. I turned round to ask
somebody to go and fetch the ship‘s doctor,
and as I looked back again, and before I had
time to stop him, the wretched man leaned.
over the rail and drawing a revolver from his
pocket, pointed it at his head, ﬁred, and

toppled overboard.

I turned the ship about

and lowered a boat, but we never found him,

and I suppose the sharks got him.
“ It was very hot in the middle of the Red
Sea. and a Lascar stoker came up after his tour
of duty and sat aft on the rail. Apparently
overcome by the heat, he lost his balance and
fell overboard. There was great excitement
among the passengers, and ﬁeld-glasses were
turned on the man to watch his struggles.
However, luckily he swam like a duck, and
having lowered a boat, we eventually picked
him up, after twenty minutes’ immersion,
more dead than alive, but still alive.

had been appropriated by the lady from
Bombay. The Aden lady considered she had
a right to half the hook, and so hung some of
her things on it also; but this was resented
by the lady from Bombay, who tore down the
Aden lady’s things and trampled on them.
Then the fat was in the ﬁre when the Adenite
came back and found her best dresses on the
ﬂoor. Vituperation followed, and the Adenite

apparently hadagreat command of language,
which she used unsparingly on the Bombayite, calling her every name under the sun,
and casting aspersion

and parentage.

on her origin, birth.

They both came to me, and

I did my best to pour oil on the troubled
waters, and ordered a second hook to be ﬁxed
up in the cabin. This more or less settled
the dispute, but the looks they exchanged
when they passed each other on the deck made
it evident that it was only an armed truce

and I doubt if either of them very mucli
enjoyed their voyage
“As you know, I often have young ladies
putunder my Charge to bring out to India,
and sometimes they are uncommon handfuls,
and I could spin you some very strange yarns

concerning these. But last voyage I brought
out a very handsome and striking woman
of a certain age, a Miss A -——-~—. She had
become engaged some years ago in England,
when very young, to a man who had soon after
departed to India
There had not been
enough money to get married on, and the
affair had rather lapsed. However, the man
was now in a good position and had written
to ask her to come out and marry him, On
arrival at Bombay l asked her to wait
until the passengers had gone ashore and

watched the bride also to follow the look in

her face, and as we approached, I saw her
suddenly stiffen, and say quickly, ‘Therehe
is’ I looked and saw the sort of man one
might describe as ‘a worm,’ and I wondered
how my charge could ever have fallen in
love with him. He raised his rupee and he
looked quitea shrivelled little old man. He
wore spectacles, was very bald, and whatever
he had been some years before, India had
evidently been very unkind to him. I won—
dered again what Miss A. could ever have seen
in him,anC-. what he had looked

like at the

time of the engagement. The greeting was
not such as I had expected. It was distinctly
cold, and there were no tender looks, not even
a kiss, in fact the whole thing was most com~
monplace. Miss A. only gasped out, ‘How
you have altered!’ They were going to lunch
at a hotel, and she very kindly pressed me to
join them. In most cases it would have been
most tactless to accept, but I really felt that
she u'ould consider it a great kindness to
accompany them. The lunch was stiff and
conversationless, except for my extreme
After lunch,
elforts in the latter direction
was paying
husband
ve
prospecti
the
while
the hill, she looked upsuddeuly at me, and
said, ‘I cannot do it, I shall go back to
England with you ’ l l don't know what the
explanations were, but Miss A is really
coming back to England in my ship.
“ I remember once, some years ago,

bring-

bothers with passengers, and it takes all the
tact a man can have to smooth over the various

launch.

We started off and she was full of

ing out a bride to a young subaltern, but she
was accompanied by her prospective father-inlaw and was not- under my charge. The father—
in-law evidently admired her very truch and
paid her great attention. Every one thought
he was very proud to be about to welcome her
Butjudge of my sun
as his daughtorin law.

petty complaints and disputes.

I took a lady

suppressed excitement as we approached the

prise, and consider the shock we all had, when

on board at Bombay Who had her cabin to
herself as far as Aden, where another lady

pier. Iliad got to feel a great interest in
the lady during the voyage, and was also
looking forward to see what the future husband was like, and looked at every one on the
pier to try and spot the lucky individual. I

it was discovered on reaching Bombay that the
future bride had changed round, and was
about to marry her erstwhile prospective
fatlier-in-law. A curious sequel was that the
young subaltern acquiesced in the arrange-

“ As you know the captains often have great

came on board and was put into the same
cabin.

It appeared that there was only one

book in the cabin to hang clothes on, and this

then I would take her myself in my own

.53

EAGLE

ment, and actually was best man to his father,
and also gave away his former ﬁancee 1
“Well, good-bye 3 By the way, don’t tell
any body, out lam going to marry Miss A.
myself when we get home!”

NAINI TAL LETTER.
6th September, 1908.
DEAR EDITOR,
The last two or three weeks here have been
very quiet as far as we are concerned, and it
is difﬁcult to ﬁnd something to vritc about.
As you will have seen from the papers the Secretariat Cup and the Gymkhana Six-a-Side
Football tournaments are concluded. In the
former, the Band met St. Joseph’s College in
two pointless draws, the third meeting resulting in the defeat of our men by one goal
to love. In the six-a-side tournament the

Band team progressed as far as the ﬁnal
round, only to be worsted by their old opponents, the cracks of St. Joseph’s College.
The Mini Tal Gazette thus briefly describes
the game against the D. B. S. team in the
semiﬁnals :—
“The semiﬁnal round in the Gymkhana
“Six-a-Side Football Tournament has been
-" played this week. D. B. 8. meeting the
“ Band on Tuesday. The game was very
“ well contested, there being no score during

"the ﬁrst period of ten minutes. In the
“second talf, one of the Band forwards
“secured the ball from a scrimmage and had
“ a successful shot at goal before the oppoSThis was
“ing backs could overtake him.

"- the only point scored, the Band thus win“ 11111;; by iﬁo.

The play of the winning team

“ was/good all round, the two backs, and the

" entre forward, Mr. Holt, being especially
“ noticeable.“
In the ﬁnal game, which was hard and even,
no points were scored in the allotted twenty
minutes, and extra time had to be played,
when the College put on a goal just before the
Whistle sounded.

. "WW—ammgm

154

THE

On Friday, the 4th instant, we held another
Band dance, this time in the Masonic Hall
here. Everything went swimmingly, and
from the large attendance and the generally—

EAGLE

THE

with an interval of 5 minutes at half-time.
In case of adraw 5 minutes extra time each
way shall be played.
If the scores be still equal, play shall be

the regiment, but many of these sportsmen
have left us, and those who remain have apparently become too ancient and “ part
worn” to indulge in such giddy games, and

expressed pleasure afforded, we can write it

continued in periods of5 minutes each way,

content themselves with the more sober, and

down as eminently successful.
The success of the aforementioned six-aside football tournament has ﬁlled us with
the desire to introduce the game thus modiﬁed in the regiment, and to this end we have
decided to propose a tournament, held under
the rules given below, to be played during the

till a goal is scored, when the game shall end.
9. The off-side rule shall be modiﬁed, so
that a player shall be on-side as long as two
adversaries remain between him and their
goal.
10. The game shall be played under the
rules of the Football Association.
A cup and silver medals to be given to the
winning team and bronze medals for runners-

less strenuous games of cards and billiards,
varied in some instances with an occasional

coming cold weather.

Troop teams could

enter, as well as teams from the Sergeants’
and Corporals’ messes, and two from the
Band. No player would, of course, play for
more than one team. An entrance fee of

Rs. 5 would provide silver medals for the

up.
The cup to be held for twelve months or
won outright by same troop or mess in three

up, in addition to which the Band are prepar-

years.
I hope the above will meet with the approbation of the sport lovers of the regiment, as

ed to present a Silver Cup, value about
Rs. 200, to the winning team.

here agrees that six-aside football is grand

winners, and bronze medals for the runners-

RULES.
1. The tournament shall be under the
management of a committee formed from the
Band.

2.

One or

sport.
Everything is going smoothly with us, and
all are well. We send good wishes.

“ ALLEGRO Vivace."

more teams may enter from

each troop, and one team from each mess.
Entrance fee, Rs. 5 per team.

3.

every one who has witnessed the tournament

No player shall be allowed to play for

more than one team.
4. All ties must be played by dates ﬁxed

SERGE ANTS’ MESS NOTES.
As will be seen from The Eagle’s “regimental gazette," several new members have

(Any breach of this rule

joined the Mess, and we are now fairly up
to full strength. There is every likelihood,

will render the offending team liable to be
disqualiﬁed.)

however, of quite a number of the senior
members leaving the regiment this trooping

in semi-ﬁnals and ﬁnals when the committee
shall appoint these ofﬁcers.
6. On any point a protest may be lodged

with a comparatively young mess. With this
infusion of young blood, we should again
come to the fore in matters of sport. During
our ﬁrst year in India, just aftera similar

with the committee.

youthful augmentation had taken place, we

The decision of the

committee on such protest shall be ﬁnal.
7. The ground shall be 75 yards long by

bowed down

40 yards wide.
8. Play shall last ten minutes each way,

in the garrison at hockey, football, cricket,
etc., and hold our own against other teams in

sporting.

to

no combination

in things

We could beat every other mess

EAGLE

“family set ” of tennis

We are hopeful,

therefore, of soon regaining our lost superiority.
With regard to social events for the past
month, the most important is that of a series
of games to which we were challenged by the
Sergeants of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry,
and which came off on the 19th ultimo. The
events consisted of shooting, tennis, billiards,
and cards, the results of which were satisfactory to all concerned, in that we divided
The shooting
honours by two wins each
commenced at 6 A.M . and teams of ten competed—the best eight scores at ‘300, 500, and
600 yards to count. The scoring was very
even at each range, and the match concluded
inawin for the Oxfords by 9 points. Tennis
commenced at 5 P.M , and consisted of four

sets of doubles. This event we won by ‘31
Following on this came bilgames to 14.
liards, at which we were quite outclassed,
winning only one game out of six, Sergeant
Richmond being the exception. In the cards
event, which included Bridge, Whist, Euchre,
Twenty-ﬁves, and Cribbage, we secured the

bigger number of points.

An excellent vocal

and instrumental programme brought a
really enjoyable day to a close, and_we are
grateful to our friends of the Oxfords for the
splendid way they entertained us. They are
shortly leaving Lucknow on relief, and we
shall miss them very much.
A very successful Billiard Handicap has
just been concluded in the mess, in which
nearly every member took part. Games
consisted of 250 up, the limit men owing and
receiving respectively 75 points. Sergeant
Richmond, the favourite, came out winner,

beating S. Q. M. S. Cronin in

the ﬁnal,

155

after a good game, by 66 points
Richrrond
owed 75 points to his opponent’s 55. Sergeant Sales and Sergeant Lewis, the semiﬁnalists, played off for 3rd prize, the victory
going to Sales by afew points. The prizes
were :——
lst
Sergeant Richmond—A one presented
by John Roberts.
2nd. S. Q M. “. CruninAA silver cigarette
case.
3rd, Sergeant Sales—A cue presented b,
Murray & Co.
4th. Sergeant Lewis—A case of razors,
A “small and early” practice dance was
held in the Mess on Wednesday, 9th instant,
when our own ladies and members entertain
ed a few guests from the local messes. The
R. A. and Royals’ string band supplied the
music for the occasion. and a very pleasant
evening was spent. The following day our

Sergeants played the

R. A. Sergeants at

cricket and won a very easy victory.
Only one spoon shoot has been held since
last Iwrote. This took place on the 27th
ultimo with the following results :—
1.95. S. Q. M. S Fordom, 87 points.
2nd. Sergeant Richmond, ESQ—(owes 3).
P010 is still a popular recreation with those
members whose work permits them to indulge, and just now there seems to be a run
on swimming—halt the mess members have
visited the lake for this purpose on the last
two holidays, and there would seem to be
every chance of us producing the channel
swimmer yet!

All communications intended for publication in The Eagle
should be addressed to the Editor, and should be accompanied by
the writer’s name and address.
The Editor will not undertake to be responsible for any reject
ed MS, nor to return any contribution unless specially desired to
do so. Accepted matter will be paid for at the rate of Rs. 2-8 0
per column. This is only admissible to non-commisstoned ofﬁcers

. .Allcn to be Corporal Shocing Smith.
Weeks to be Unpaid Lem-Corporal
Dewing to be Shocina Sniitli.
“
Sinythe to be
"
Reardon to he

12 c Arnold, b Neil

5829, Pte. Paton awarded 3rd Class certiﬁcate of Education.

Births.

5307, Pte. Robson awarded 3rd Class certificate of Education.

Promotions and Appointments.
Led—Serge Fisher to be Orderly-room Sergean
t
"
Elines to be Sergeant.
Martin to be Sergeant.
Unpaid Lee.-Seigt.Sctchell to be l-‘aid Lee-Ser
geant.
"
“
Allchin to be Paid Lcc.»Scrgeant.
Corp]. S. S. Hood to he Sergeant-li‘arrier.
"
Jarnicson to be I’aid Leo-Sergeant.
Rickards to be Unpaid Lce.-Scrccant.
Anstcy to be
"
“
"
"
Newton to be
' .-Corpl Hughes to bc Corporal.

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' Messrs. G. W LAWRIE & CO.,
PHOTOGRAPHERS,
HUZRATGUNJ,
LUCKNOW.

(the Eagle.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15TH, 1908.

VOL. II.

The premier firm for Portraiture, High class, well finished picture
can be relied on.

Special Terms to N. C. Officers and Men.
Prices Extremely Moderate.
We are also prepared to take groups at any time and place, and
guarantee good pictures.
-

12 by 10 Groups, Re. 1 each Unmounted, for 30 or more copies.
The Lucknow Branch Closes from 15th April to 31st October.
Naini Tal & Ranikhet Branches Open from lst May to Blst October.
EXPRESS"

“SOLDIER’S

SERVICE

(ESTABLISHED 1894).
FOR

PERSONAL

TROOPING

SEASON

SURPLUS HEAVY

and delivered ...t the door of address by our well—known

“Soldier’s

Express”

The hot weather is

over, punkahs

have

ceased swinging, and the dusky pullers have
gone their many ways. The sun is no longer
scorching, the early mornings are fresh with
the sting of an English summer morning air:
and all nature seems to smile. The rainfall
has been good, and the crops will consequently be successful Everybody seems in good
health, work goes with a swing, cricket.
hockey, and other games are plentiful, and
altogether we are soldiering at present under
conditions that admit of but one complaint,
and that is, that we have nothing to complain
about.

specially organised for the Military, and highly appreciated and recommend-

ed by all the British Regiments whose unanimous opinion is “ THE BEST
AND CHEAPEST EVER KNOWN.”

There is no limit to Size, Shape,

or Weight, but there is the MAXIMUM of SPEED with MINIMUM of
COST or TROUBLE.
assistance to
BEING AUTHORISED BAGGAGE AGENTS we meet all Transports and render every
OFFICERS, WARRANT OFFICERS, and N. C. 0s or their Friends

The detachment which has been quartered
during the summer months at Manora Camp,
Naini Tal, returned to Lucknow, under the
command of Captain Grant,on 1stinstant. The

party included Lieutenant Rube, S. S. M.
Cooke, Sergeants Lock and Andrews, and the
Signallers. The men look well and ﬁt, and are
apparently much beneﬁted by their sojourn
among the Himalayas, They all, however,
say they are glad to be back at headquarters.
We, too, are glad, for it will mean more nights
in bed, more grooms, and better-looking
parade states.

on being instructed to do so.
received and delivered to expected Friends.
PARCELS
&
TELEGRAMS,
LETTERS,
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to
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of exchange."
” HOME REMITTANCES undertaken at current rates
ﬂ
THE METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE, LUCKNOW‘.
PRINTED FOR THE EDITOR BY \V. S. MEEK, AT

No. 10.

Wallis joined the Royals in December,
1889, transferred to the Army Reserve in
1896, and rejoined the Colours in 1899 on

the outbreak of the South African war.

He

was promoted to the rank of SergeantInstructor of Fencing, and did duty at
the Deptt during the regiment’s absence at
the front. He now goes to join the North of
Ireland Yeomanry on appointment as Sergeant‘Instructor of that corps, and will be
stationed in Belfast.
He was Orderly to
our Colonel-inChief on the obcasion of that
monarch’s attendance at the funeral of our
late Queen, and for this he received from the
Emperor a pair of gold cuff links and the
Order of the Red Eagle, 3rd class. Wallis
is also in possession of the medal for long
service and good conduct.
Raven enlisted in 1887, and has served in
the regiment without a break until the pres.

ent day. He served throughout the Boer
campaign and is in possession of both medals,
as well as the medal for long service and

good conduct. He has been a- notable ﬁgure
in the Sergeants’ Mess for a number of years,
and will be greatly missed.
Thearle transferred to the Royals from the
7th Dragoon Guards at the close of the late
war, and leaves now after eighteen years’ service with the Colours.

He is an instrumental-

The ﬁrst party,

istof no mean order, and the Band will ﬁnd
it difﬁcult to replace him.
Lewis goes home on transfer to the Army
Reserve after eight years’ service.

which sails from Bombay on the 16th instant
by the H T. “ Dongola,” includes S, S. M.
Wallis and family, S. S. Farrier Raven and
family, Band-Sergeant Thearle and family
and Sergeant Lewis.

No. 2244 Private O’Brien will also leave
by the “ Dongola,” and with him we lose
our oldest-serving soldier. O’Brien enlisted
in the Royals on May 2nd, 1883, when the

With the advent of the trooping season
comes the departure of many members of

the regiment for England.

...L..._____m._“_

THE
160

THE

EAGLE

regiment was stationed at Island Bridge, Dub-

Saunders and his fellow-bakers quite enjoyed

lin, under the com mand of Colonel Hutton.

that breadmaking ! "

He

was posted to “B " Troop under the late T. S.
M. Hilliard, who will be better remembered
as‘Canteen Steward in Hounslow. Most of

O‘Brien’s service has been spent in “ B "
Troop and “B” Squadron, and he will be recalled by many of our old comrades. He
served all through the late South African
campaign, and now leaves to take up his residence in Cork.
The best of good fortune attend our departing comrades in their new sphere.

The draft of men from home. which comes
out by the same boat that takes the party
noted above to England, disembarked at Bom-

bay on the 8th instant, and arrived in Lucknow
on the 10th instant.

As we noted last month,

Mr D’Arcy Edwardes came out in charge and
joins the regiment for the ﬁrst time. The
party includes also S. Q. M. S. Beall, who is
returning from English leave.

We have sent copies of

The Eagle to Mr. Byerley, and hope to include
him in our list of subscribers.

ent title, Police Constable
Connor—late
of“ A” Squadron, differs in his opinion of
workin England. In a letter to a friend in
the regiment he tells of his good berth in
the Metropolitan Police, and dwells on the advantages of life in one’s own country, and of
his good pay and prospects of pension, etc.
He seems to have met half the ex-Royals resie
dent in London, and mentions Sergeant
Ricks, “ Bluey" Eason (a publican), “Geese“
Harrison, “ Bumper” Barnes, the brothers
Ridley, and many others. “ The Corporals‘
Mess,” he continues, “ will be well represented at the old Comrades’ Dinner this year.
Corporals Ridley, Day, and Green are going,

and they have ordered me to attend, so we

Cruse.

Africa. He is anxious for news of “the 01d
mob," and a portion of his letter is worth
quoting as a warning note to men leaving
the regiment. He writes :—" Good berths are
distinctly few and far between nowadays,
and it is a case of hanging on orce you get in.

Independent Order of Good Templars :—

connection with the Regimental Lodge of the

“ WATERLOO" LODGE No. 1.

secured a good one. I occasionally come
across old Royals, and never miss the oppor-

At the Annual Grand Lodge Session recently held at Lucknow. the Lodge was re—
presented by Bros. Gibson and Macfarlane.
also Bro. Summerﬁeld as a Past Representa—
tive, whilst a number of members attended as
visitors. Bro. Gibson, on recommendation of

tunity of a chat about the good old times.

No. X. District, was appointed District Deputy

‘Ted’ Saunders works. close by my home
(Southﬁelds, London,) and is doing well. He

by the Grand Chief Templar.

The Grand

Do. you remember the bread (‘3) be baked for

Lodge Executive appointed Bro. Summerﬁeld
“ Grand Guard” for the ensuing year.
The “ Waterloo” Lodge meets weekly in
the Soldiers’ Home. We had alsoa branch
Lodge at Naini Tal with the detachment.

the Squadron ?. There was no yeast, so the
ofﬁcers supplied bottled stout instead, and

We havea library just started, which we
hope will prove a great help to the members.

of the
days afterwards, with two squadrons

13th Hussars and some mounted infantry.
Orders were given to blow up the farm with
gun-cotton. When all was ready an infant’s
cry was heard, and the baby before mentioned, was discovered and rescued.”

We are permitted to publish the following
which, in perfect condition, was recently

Among the entertainments held since last
and
we wrote, is a very excellent dramatic

variety performance, which the Oxford Light
Infantry A. D. C. put on in our regimental
the
theatre, on the 16th of last month. All

found among a file of old regimental documents 2—-

BERTFORD STREET, MAYFAIR,
No. 16——, 28th March, lSlb.

the
musical items were well received, and

My DEAR CLIFTON,
General Garth went out of town the day

two—act sketch, which concluded the show,
was well staged and most ably performed.

after you saw him, and nothing can be ascerretained respecting your memorial till his

turn, which must be soon.
Sergeant-Instructor Collingwood, who serv-

ed in South Africa with the 13th Hussars,
We are asked to publish the following in

er,
and were offered milk and biscuits. Howev
g
the corporal becoming suspicious on seein
tion
inspec
quick
a
made
litter,
fresh horse
and galloped his patrol away under a sharp
- '
fire from an adjacent ridge.
two
place
the
d
visite
ard
Hildy
“General

extremely interesting letter, the originaloi

I hope the Pig’s Ear

(whatever that may mean) is good !"

training on board the ‘Manchester Port,’
going to Africa, has stood him in good stead.

ul
deeda “ very old Royal.” We are gratef
to her not only for her very interesting
in
reminiscences, but for the splendid spirit
many
hope
we
and
sent,
was
e
articl
her
which
le.
more old Royals will follow her examp
is
know,
rs
reade
our
of
Miss Cruse, as most
e
Georg
in
Capta
late
the
of
ter
the daugh

can tell a few of the “ 01d sweats” some tall

Chief among our correspondents of the
month is Mr. F. L. Byerley, formerly Corporalin “C" Squadron, who left the regiment shortly after its return from South

is a baker by profession, and doubtless his

We are much indebted to Miss May Cruse
"
for her excellent article “Recollections,
Writr.
numbe
nt
published with the prese
ing, as she does, from personal knowledge
of occurrences contemporary with the fall of

Sevastopol, we feel with her that she is inPrivate Connor~—or to give him his pres-

yarns about India.

I consider myself very fortunate in having

161

EAGLE

writing from Bhagalpore, says :——“I was very
much interested in the South African Letter
in the September number of The Eagle. I

happened to be in command of the ﬁrst patrol
to break through Utrecht on the occasion
mentioned. My advanced men came in with
information that two Englishmen were shut

up in the prison.

We made a dash for the

place, and seized the jailer ; I took the keys
a
and found two Kafﬁrs in the ﬁrst cell,

croporal of the 5th Dragoon Guards in the
second, and a trooper 0f the Royals in the
third.
“ A few days previous whilst on reconnaist,
sauce from Umbana Kop towards Utrech

the left ﬂanking patrol of my troop visited a
the
large farm underneath the berg, ﬂying
red cross ﬂag. They were greeted by three

1
women—Tone of whom had a baby in arms—

I will, let you

know as soon as I can see Garth what he
has done in the business, and what you are

to expect. The Strange events which have
taken place in France within these few days,
will be the commencement most probably of
a new war. The Allies promise great thing,
h
and are very indignant, but after the fooliS
ted
expec
be
can
part they have acted, little
left
from them. The king of France has
and
Lisle, and is gone, some say, to Tournay,
others, to Ostend, but bad as things at present look, I have yet great hopes if the allied

powers will act with promptness and spirit.
Everything will, in the event of an active
campaign, be sent to Flanders, so you may

get your camp equipage in order, for all the
cavalry will he wanted that can be got together. London is ina perfect state of fermentation; to-day they killed Bouneparte, and

to-morrow they will kill the king of France;

the reports in circulation are as numerous,

162

T H E

EAGLE
THE

as the persons you

meet.

But

I believe

The following oﬁicers, at present on leave,

things are very bad in France; the army decidedly against the Bourbons, yet there are
many individuals secretly wishing them
well, and if the Allies should be successful,
that number might be considerably increas-

Colonel Sir A. B. Clifton commanded the
Royals at the Battle of Waterloo. Perhaps
some of our readers can tell us something of
the writer.

Squadron Training will commence on 15th
instant, and “ A ” Squadron are leaving barracks to camp about four or ﬁve miles away,
where they will remain for about a month and
carry out their drills. It is proposed to send
out “ B ” Squadron later, and the two squadrons will probably take sides in several tactical

schemes.

“0” and

The regiment left Scotland in

1784, and,

C. Charrington and StL. Atkinson are already
back at headquarters. We shall be minus the
services of our Adjutant, Lieutenant W. 'l‘.
Hodgson, during the whole of the cold weather, he having been granted nine months'
leave err-India. Mr. Hodgson has taken little
or no leave for some considerable time, and

establishment was increased by nine men
per troop, and in the spring of 1790 the regiment marched to Scotland, returning south

Burch is ofﬁciating Adjutant.
The engagement is announced of Captain
Lord Charles Fitzmaurice to Lady Violet
Elliot. As our readers are aware, Lord
Charles is the second son of the Marquess of
Lansdowne, who was Viceroy of India. from
1888 to 1894. it is a pleasant coincidence that
Lady Violet is the youngest daughter of the
present Viceroy, the Earl of Minto. We wish
them the best of good luck.

of the revolutionary troubles

in

France,

the

the year afterwards, and was employed in

the repression of disturbances in Birming‘
ham.
A further augmentation was made to the
strength of the regiment in 1792, and again
in the spring of 1793, when four troops were
ordered to be held in immediate readiness
for foreign service.
The enormities committed by the French
Republicans occasioned the war of coalition

against the French Convention, which had in

(Continued)

fact been declared on the 10th of February,
1791, and a British force being sent to assist
the Dutch in Holland, on the 10th of June,
1793, the troops of the Royal Regiment of
Dragoons which, in the absence of a ﬁeld
oﬁicer, seem to have been commanded by
Captain William Spencer, embarked for the
Netherlands to join the army commanded by
H. R. H. the Duke of York, K.G.
Landing at Qstend, these four troops marched up the country and made part ofa force

In 1779 the soldiers of the regiment equipp—

which drove a body of French from the Camp

ed as lightdragoons, the light troop of the

de Caesar behind the Scheldt, on the 8th of
August. . They were with the covering army

HISTORICTA—L— RECORD

“ D” Squadrons will
0f the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, contain-

doubtless follow in due course. The sergeants
of “A ” Squadron under Major Steele and

ing an account of its formation in the reign of

Mr. Tidswell went out for a four days’ camp

sequent services to the present time.

on the lst instant, shifting camp each day,
and making sketches and reports of the
country over which the Squadron will work.
They all carried sporting guns and, by varying work with sport, had a most interesting
outing.

By General C. P. de Ainslie.

King Charles the Second, and of its sub-

3rd Dragoon Guards, the 6th and 11th Dra—

during the siege of Dunkirk, and when the

The Band conclude their engagements at

goons, were incorporated into a regiment
Which was numbered the 20th Light Dragoons,

Naini Tal, by a performance on the 14th instant, and are expected to arrive in Lucknow

and during the summer: the 3rd Dragoon
Guards, the Royals, the 18th, 20th, and the

on the 17th. We shall then be practically
‘r" all present,” and our winter work be in full

21st Light

swing.

’ During the, great riots in London in the

'

beginning of June, 1780, known as the
“Gordon Riots,” the Royals were ordered
thither, and in the following year they went
to Scotland, when, at the termination of the
American War in 1783, the establishment was
reduced to 288 ofﬁcers and men.
during the ensuing six years, it occupied
various quarters in the northern and western
counties of England. On the breaking out

we hope he will have a pleasant time on his
well-earned holiday. For the present Captain

Royal Regiment of Dragoons,

EAGLE

Dragoons were encamped

Lexden Heath, near Colchester.

on

q

attempt on that place was abandoned, they
were employed in operations on the frontiers
of Flanders, where they had a sharp encoun-

ter with acorps of French‘cavalry‘on the 27th
of October. ,

‘ “on ‘thg‘zstha January, 1794,],the colonelcy

163

of the regiment, vacant by the death of the
Earl of Pembroke, was conferred upon MajorGeneral Philip Goldsworthy.
In the month of April, the four troops assembled with the army near Cateau, and
were engaged in the general attack upon the
enemy’s position at Fremont, on the 17th,
when Captain-Lieutentant the Honourable
Thomas Carlton of the Royals was killed.
The siege of Landrecies was immediately
commenced, the regiment forming part of the
covering army: also on the 24th of April it
took part in the aﬁair at Villiers en Couche,
in which the French lost 1,200 men and three
pieces of artillery, and when the 15th Light
Dragoons, now 15th King’s Hussars, so particularly distinguished themselves.
The
casualties in the Royal Dragoons were one
man and two horses killed : two men and three
horses wounded.
On the 20th of the month the regiment again
distinguished itself at Cateau, where the
enemy, having marched out of Cambray, attacked the BritiSh army at daybreak. The
Duke of York detached the Royals with seven
other regiments of cavalry to turn the left
ﬂank of the French, a movement which was
attended with the most brilliant results, and
the enemy overthrown with great slaughter :
the rout became general; cavalry and infantry,
mingled in promiscuous crowds. were scattered over the plain and fell beneath the
Sabres of the British Dragoons, who captured
the French Commander,

Lieutenant-General

Chapny, and thirty-ﬁve pieces of cannon.
The Duke of York, in his account of the action,
observes, “ The behaviour of the British
cavalry has been beyond all praise.” The

Royal Dragoons were among the corps which
were declared to have “acquired immortal
honour.” They lost upon this occasion six
men and twelve horses killed, with Lieutenant
Froom, two sergeants, eleven men, and four-

teen horses wounded.
The fall of Landrecies took place on the
' same day, the 26th of April, when the regiment

which

Brow-in,‘ in

his

thouobservesz—“A column of ﬁve or six
our
ds
towar
rance
appea
sand men made its

s
left, on which account the brigade of guard
ready
and the British heavy cavalry remained
the
but
d;
groun
for action on their camp
situaus
tageo
advan
our
ving
French obser
ng
tion, and dreading the thought of meeti

it moved into barracks at Canterbury.
COPY OF RECRUITING BiLL.

the British cavalry a second time in the open
ach.
plain, thought proper not to appro
every
at
sed
repul
were
enemy
Finally the
d. ”
point, andin the evening they retire
ed, and
defeat
were
At length the Austrians

the enemy brought forward such preponderss re—
ating numbers that no chance of succe
of
Duke
the
maining to the British troops,
was
which
t,
retrea
a
York decided upon
rs.
followed by the evacuation of Flande
of the
In the meantime another squadron

Royal Regiment of Dragoons had embarked
being
in England for foreign service, but
relandwas
it
r,
weathe
severe
by
back
driven

ed, and in July this part of the regiment
in
moved from Salisbury to Weymouth,
visit to that
consequence of His Majesty’s

place ; and in October upon the king’s return
‘to'London,

it marched to Dorchester ban

,
racks.
d were
abroa
troops
the
r
winte
the
During

exposedto privations and hardships which
horses.
occasioned the death of many men and

severe
The weather was unusually

‘The

to the Er’en‘ch,
Dutch people were favourable

and the British troops,'i'n their retreat thrOugh

“Wanted, Volunteers, for His Majesty’s
lst or Royal Regiment of Dragoons, command—
ed by

MAJOR-GENERAL THE EARL or
PEMBROKE.

“GOD SAVE THE KING !”
(To be continued.)

comrade to death with a knife, and this, you

RECOLLECTIONS.
An article, by the Editor, in The Eagle
of June 15th, headed “Wanted Copy," has

above-named

regiment shall

immediately

ng
enter into pay and good quarters by applyi
of
City
the
in
r
Ofﬁce
nding
Comma
to the
Exeter, or at Axminster, or at St, Mary,

Newton Bushell, or with a recruiting party
stationed at Devizes, Wiltshire, when each

volunteer shall receive His Majesty’s full
addi‘
bounty of two guineas and half, with an
His Majestion of pay, and a crown to drink

,
ty’s health ; also a. good horse, arms, cloaks

and accoutrements, with everything necesn.
sary to complete a gentleman dragoo
ained as
entert
be
to
ng
wishi
“ Young men

Royal Dragoons must be well made, perfeCtly
.
sound, and healthy, having no' bodily inﬁrm
years,
21
to
16
of
age
ity whatever, from the

and 5 feet‘Bi inches to 5 feet 11 inches high.

know, is not “ a way we have in the army ”
. I suppose it must have been a great rabble
that sham bled in; the scene came vividly

and rapidly before my mind's eye as I watch»

somewhat pricked my conscience, and roused
me to effort. I know two school magazines.

ed atenth rate German Infantry Regiment

one of which has entirely come to grief owing
to this same want of “Copy,” the other still
run
survives, but, is, almost exclusively,
ﬁnancially by the Editor.
”
The sketches of “Scout” and “Jemima
cences
reminis
the
that
hope
to
me
ge
encoura
be
ofa very “Old Royal," like myself, may
monthly
your
of
pages
the
allowed a space in

shortly after the close of the Franco-PruSsian war.
For these paid military guests, Barrack
authorities had to provide necessaries, and
some few extras.
I went 'round the various rooms before
their occupation, and, as nearly as I can recollect, each contained the following :~A

Chronicle.

“All young men willing to serve in the

awaited events,
I remember standing at the Barrack gate,
with my nurse, to see the dreaded regiment
march in ; dreaded—because a dreadful thing
had just happened outside: two men had
quarrelled on the road, and one had done his

Itis certainly not within the memory of
any Royal Dragoon now serving, and it may
possibly be news to many,

march out of the Rhine fortress of Caste],

wooden four-post bed with bedding, a table,

‘ 7:.

on

journal

of the regiment to enlist none but honest
fellows that wish to serve their King and
country with honesty and ﬁdelity.

T.“

attacked by General Pichegru with a large

ed on one of the plains in Westphalia, and in
the ensuing winter embarking for England,
the four troops from the continent joined
the squadron at Dorchester in January, 1796.
In July following, the whole regiment encamped on Barham Downs near Weymouth,
brigaded with the Scots Greys and the 3rd
King‘s Own Dragoons, under LieutenantGeneral Lord Cathcart, whence in September

not known something of, as it is the intention

a

e,
the 17th of May the regiment was in reserv
post
after which the army resumed its
was
before 'I‘ournay, where, on the 22nd, it

and hospitality.
The regiment was engaged in no further
hostilities.
During the summer of 1796 it was encamp»

.

In the attack upon the French positions on i

the Duchy of Bremen they there found rest

ourselves, near the gate, and had just settled
in comfortably, when we were told that the
Swise Legion would shortly arrive, and we
should be required to take the regulation
allowance, and give up the remainder of the
rooms to the foreign ofﬁcers; so we crammed
into our two rooms and our kitchen and

that,

during the

two chairs, a washhand—stand with white
delf, fender, ﬁreirons and coal scuttle. With
this meagre supply of furniture each one made

Crimean War, our poor old country was so

himself content, all but the Major, Who sent

denuded of soldiers, and so unprotected, that

on, before, a small carpet;

the Government had to engage the services
vely
of foreign mercenaries, called respecti
not
speak,
I
Legion.
the German and Swiss
ce,
experien
personal
from
but
from hearsay,
with
for some of the Royals were quartered
were
they
rather
or
two of these regiments,
the
quartered upon us. It was just befhre'

I, together with

an admiring crowd of menservants, st00d
revereutly and watched its carriage upstairs.
Then the oﬂicers (I forget how many) arriv.
ed, and I, a tiny girl of ﬁve, at once became

the object of the devoted worship of one and
all.

I Was waylaid at every end and turn, and

coaxed with sweets and toys

Two out of

fall of Sevastapol, and my father had come

the number stand out in my memory, one a.

and
home to take charge of the recruits
Barrack
the
ury;
Canterb
at
young herses

took'the least notice of me (which is the way.

was pretty well empty, and quarters abounded. We had such adelightful house,; all to

tall, silent man whom I liked just because he
Of all children), and another whom I did not,

like at‘all atrﬁrsthbut who, conquered me ,by

A. .

man and three. horses wounded. His Royal
Highness reported that the troops “had
on
‘well supported the reputation acquired
the 26th of last month.”

“No trampers or vagabonds need apply,
nor any seafaring men, and likewise militia'
men not having served their time, or any
apprentice whoseindentures are not given
up; nor will any man be entertained who is

*2“ . MH———~—._ 7.. Wm“. u

but lost only two horses killed, and one

Holland during hard frost and storms of
snow and sleet, were treated by the inhabit
ants as enemies; but arriving at length in

165

EAGLE

-

marched to the vicinity of Tournay, where,
(in the 10th of May, they were again in action,

force,

THE

THE-EAGLE

164

~-—--—-v—-.t_.‘...

166

THE

rat n nae-i. a

EAGLE

persistent kindness ; this last I knew as

our maid was making, suffered total destruc-

times, each preved a difficult subject from

Mr. Barlow. I don’t suppose his name was
Barlow at all, but this is what our man and

tion ; the maid herself was also covered with

which to extract. money in payment of service rendered. Mrs. EILongley was an excellent judge of the situation, as she was always
overhead and ears in debt herself : she Was
credited with saying, that she left debts
’behind her in every town, otherwise people
would forget there was such a person as Mag
On this particular
Lorigley in existence.

maid servant made out of it ; and I accepted it
without question.

Each ofﬁcer had his own

manservant, and the downstair part of the
house was kept lively from morning till night.
One

young

manservant

stands

out

very

prominently in my recollection; he was extra

sprightly and vivacious and, in modern parlance, “ Bossed the Show.” None of the party
knew many English words, out this little person knew the most, and very soon acquired

more, and what he lacked in language he
made up for by action and gesture. He would
come to our kitchen and beg for matches.
striking his ﬁngers sharply down the wall,

and saying, “Please, ’ittle ﬁre.”

One Fair

Day in Canterbury he knocked at our door
and handed ina wax-doll for me, from my
Mr. Barlow, making it understood that it was
for me by putting his hand a short way from

the ground, with the words “ For ’ittle one
so high.”
I am bound to say that the ways of our
foreign visitors, like those of the Heathen
Chinee, were “peculiar.” I have enumerated
the articles provided for them by the Government, and with these they made shift ; in
consequence the contents of the washhandstand were put to other purposes than those
originally intendedﬁ-we constantly saw them,
being carried upstairs, containing boiled rice,
and beautifully boiled—my mother, who was

a judge, declared it to be.

Another of their

little ways was a source of much unpleasantness to us ; they placed a large iron coal

box under our kitchen window and ﬁlled it to
overﬂowing with refuse and waste. The manner they had of ﬁlling it was simple, and saved
labour; they merely opened the window up

above, and pitched out ashes or Cinders, or
whatever it was, with results that may be

easily imagined. This happened suddenly
more than once and before our' window could
be closed, and, on one occasion, some pastry,

ash-dust, and much temper prevailed.

The

climax was reached, when it was rumoured
that another Swiss ofﬁcer was expected, and
the only available room was their kitchen.
By this time that apartment needed considerable cleaning, and the numerous menservants set to work to clean it. Their procedure was primitive ; it consisted in the
bringing of several buckets of water, and
swilling the ﬂoor from end to end, and then,

with brooms, sweeping the muddy fluid into
the rat-holes, things, I need hardly remind
you, not infrequently found in Barrack kitchens. Unfortunately all the water did not
ﬁnd its way into the rat-holes, but a goodly
inky stream ﬂowed steadily into our kitchen
on the opposite side of the passage. We were
apprised of the event by the frantic appeals
of our own man and maid whose remonstrances had had no effect. Accordingly my
mother sallied forth to see what she could do.
The offenders all stood and listened most
respectfully while she demonstrated and explained, to the best of her ability. how a ﬂoor

was washed in the English fashion, with
house ﬂannel and frequent wringings. After
she had turned her back she heard shouts of
laughter and, having the curiosity to return,
she found all the good fellows on their knees,
endeavouring to carry out her instructions

with their red cotton and silk pocket handkerchiefs.

How could any one stand out long

against such persistent good temper ?
It is not to be wondered at that I paid
frequent visits to our kitchen, to listen to
tales about our foreigners.

Once I found old Mrs. Longley, wife of a
private, and mother of our maid, holding
forth long and loudly and airing her grievances. She had undertaken to do the washing of some of the Swiss gentlemen, and was
evidently surprised that there were points of
similarity between the home-made warrior,
and the foreign product, inasmuch, as at

occasion her wrath was hot’against my friend,

Mr. Barlow, who owed her for several weeks’
Washing, and at last she gave vent to the’ following: “ l tell you what it is—he is a regular muck l " I did not in the least know what
she meant, but I must have felt it was

who had just got his Troop. She was by Way
o'frbeing musical, and enthused over the innsicianship of the German ofﬁcers, who Would

hang aroundtheir quarters in another square
away from ours, and play the piano and sing
and smoke all the evening. This concerned

me not at all, and I continued to pin my faith
and allegiance to my Swiss admirers. Dear
kindly men. There cannot be many, if any
alive now. I wish they could have known what
a warm corner they made for themselves in
’
'
the'heart of a little child.
MAY Gag-so

opprobrious epithet coined for the occasion,

and though i feared Mr. Barlow, and only
half liked him, I knew him for my friend, and,
as such, demanding my defence: so I advan‘c
ed into the middle of the room and, with 2,11
the vigour and energy of which ﬁve years old
was capable. l. stamped my foot and exclaimed, “ Mrs. Longley, he is not a muck " 1
should not remember this had I not been so
teazed about it for long afterwards.
Then, one very wet day, While wandering

around the passages in search of adventure,
I suddenly found myself smothered up in a
rag 01- shawl, and quickly carried upstairs,
kicking

frantically.

The

brigand' was the

lively young inanservant, who, when he had
my

released me, placed me in the arms of
very
devoted admirer, M r. Barlow. "l was
distinct,
n
have
I
but
indignant,
very
shy and

impression that the dear thing was trying to
tellme that he had little girls of his own

home.

at

Then from out the table drawer he

drew a little box ant gave it to me :it contain.

ed an exquisite model of a Swiss Chalet, he nan
sent for it on purpose, and in those days it was
a rarity. As well as my shyness'permitted,
I gathered, ho was explaining that it was like
his own home in his beloved fa therland. Shertly after this our friends of the Swiss Legion
left Canterbury, to he succeeded by the
Germans, “ A much superior body of men,"

HULL DOCK STRlKE --1893.
A part of my soldiering to which I always
look back with pleasure, is ﬁfty days spent
at Hull'in aid of the civil power during the

(lock strikes in the. spring of 15493.
The cause of the strike was the usual thing

in Capilal‘rs, Labour wars, the doc't labourers

demardinga higherrate of pay

than the

shipping owners were prepared ”to give
Many thousand free labourers were imported,
and lodged in temporary quarters inside the

docks. V The strikers

naturally “regarded

these “ bla‘cklegs" as deadly enemies.
collisions became Common.

'{o the doeks'we‘re seized

and

Goods in transit

and burnt in the

p'h'blic streets, and early-in April the situation
became so serious, that the civil authorities
drafted in eight- hundred extra police, and

applied for troops. i'l‘he' regiment,

then

a
hilartered at York. was ordered to hold
the
squadron in readiness to turn out, and
men of “ D" Squadron rushed down to
stables with their marching order kits; this
Was in' the days of sheepskins when " marchmg order” was by no means the simple
Operation it now is. However. those kits were

on in record time, and their owners arrayed
in scarlet mines and white belts; with bread

ms

THE EAGLE

THEEAGLE

and cheese in their haversacks, two pints of

the envy of all their less fortunate comrades
who were “ not forit.” I was lucky enough
to be one of twenty-ﬁve non-commissioned

toes smashed and being literally ﬂattened
out. After two hours of this luxurious
travelling, we arrived at the Paragon station,
Hull, detrained, and marched off to billets.
I was included in a party of seven at the
Golden Cross under Corporal “Joe” Rowe,

the situation, which brought forth reminiscent
anecdotes from the time Corporal Wallace
was shot in Ireland to the then late disturbances at Newcastle, when A " Squadron
was sent hurriedly north.
At a few minutes to one o’clock, our hopes
were realized, and we were raised to the
tenth pinnacle of happiness by the sound of
feur G's followed by the “turn out. ” No one
was late on that parade, and by the time the
Colonel had walked across from the mess, the

SergeantvMajor—strapped to a big revolver,
and looking very ﬁerce—had “ told off " the

squadron.

Five minutes later we were trot-

ting through the streets of York to the railway station, followed by hundreds of excited
citizens to see us entrain.

“ Tiger” Tijou and I shared a truck with
ﬁve horses, being posted at either end as
“ stable guards," acting as collision mats for
the horses as they rolled to and fro with the

motion of the train. Our mode of progres' sion' was simply a succession of violent jerks,
as if the driver was continually pulling up at
imaginary obstacles and starting again before

he stopped, so that we were extremely pleased to arrive at our destination, feeling thank:
ful the journey was only forty miles instead

of four hundred.

.

“Dick”

our billet in the evening, but evidently only
attracted by curiosity, were quite goodhumoured. However, the moods ofa mob
vary;the next evening we were returning

from stables, situated some hundred yards
away, and had to pass through a rather rough,
looking crowd who had an inclination to turn
nasty. “Joe” Rowe getting wroth over
some offensive remarks, rushed into the
thick of it, and got somewhat badly handled
before we were able to get to his assistance
and extricate him from the scrimmage. This

would have been no easy matter. had nota
hundred of the Leeds police turned up at an
opportune moment and scattered the mob
with their batons. According to the local
press, the mob felt surprised and hurt at
the unceremonious way they were disposed

of.

It appeared, the local police were rather

fatherly in their methods, consequently the
crowd were taken aback by the vigorous

tactics of the Leeds men, who had only just
arrived and were on their way from the station, when this incident occurred. On the second day we (the troop of “ C” Squadron)

after a morning's picquet duty in the Alexander docks, were turned out at 10-15 p.m.,
amid much excitement and speculation as to
what “we were for.” Arriving at the rear

two unfortunate troopers in with each truck
of horses, but what they were expected to do
is a question ; personally it was all I could do
to“stable guard” myself from having my

dezvous we found the station approaches
packed with people, and were told we were
.to escort a “ blackleg" crew, coming in from
Liverpool, to the Albert docks.
A tremendous groan burst from the crowd
as the ship’s ofﬁcers and their men left the
station and climbed into the vehicles waiting

SOUTH AFRICAN transits.

outside
Amidsta storm of booting, hissing,
:gnd groans, we started off at a sharp trot,
scattering the crowd, right and left, in the ‘
following order :—A sectionin front, followed

Ngnwensrnn, NATAL,
3lst October, 1900.
DEAR M,—

by two cabswith the ship's ofﬁcers and a.
large brake with the men, another section in
rear, and the remainder of the troop on the
ﬂanks.
We had not proceeded far before the yells
and curses were supplemented with stones
and brickbats, the cab windows smashed, and
woodwork splintered. As for the crew, it was
of a case “all hands below”; they had to crouch
on the ﬂoors of the conveyances to avoid the
ﬂying missiles.
The further we went, the

thicker seemed

the mob ;several of our fellows were hit with
stones, my own helmet gettinga whack which
dented the crest and knocked the spike “' half

left "

However, it is only fair to say that

I believe most of our hits were accidental,
being intended for the occupants of the
carriages. About this time several of our
horses came down on the slippery stone sets,
only afew street lamps were alight, and it
began to look like arough night for us. We
were now nearing the docks and the pressure
from the crowds was increasing, when there
came a sudden wild rush, which bmke on the
ranks of two hundred police, formed near the
dock-gates. We passed over the swingbridge
with the battered vehicles, and landed our
charge in safety, but somewhat discomforted
and bruised. They swore a good deal ina
quaint, nautical way, and all seemed to agree
that lrlull Should have been speltwith an ‘- e. "
We had just dismounted for a short rest,
when shouts for assistance came across the
deck, “Come on, the cavalry—they're over-

powering the
In those days of route marching, cavalry
movements by rail were somewhat of a novelty, and it was considered necessary to put

169

police ! "

sWung over, and we
noise like thunder.
broke in front of a
home to bed ~so did

The bridge

was

galloped across, with a
The mob didn’t wait, but
police charge and went
we.

(To be nominated.)

On-theday the Natal Volunteers were to
have been disbanded, a party, sixty strong,
escorting a convoy of twenty-two wagons from
Dundee to Vryheid, were attacked by the

Boers six miles from the British post at De
Jagers drift on the Buffalo river.
.
The Colonials sustained forty-eight casualties, and the convoy fell into the bands of'the
enemy.
We escorted a convoy from Newcastle to
Utrecht the following day ; saw nothing of the
enemy, and returned without adventureon the
4th instant. A few days later, however, a patrol of the 5th Dragoon Guards was driven
back with aloss of two men in the same vicini-

ty. We wentout on receipt of this information,
but returned to camp after burning several
farms, the Boers having retired to the berg.

After the last incident I spent a fortnight
on detachment at Fort Metcalfe, four miles
west of Newcastle. where we had two troops
encamped on the

terrace of a hill, some hun-

dreds of feet above the plain.

The track lead-

ing up to camp was rough and steep; how

much so, may be judged from the fact that
we had to laager our waggons on the plain

below.

At ﬁrst we anticipated some difficulty

in getting stores up, but after witnessing the
astonishing velocity of a barrel of beer being

urged upwards by half-a-dozen

stalwart and

thirsty warriors, our fears were set at rest.

The Fortﬂa mere wall and ditch—was garrisoned by a. detachment of the Imperial
Light Infantry, who celebrated our arrival
with a cricket match, which we won by eight
wickets, although 1 must confess it was mostly
owing to our champion slogger “swiping" the
ball off the hill altogether, and running it out
for forty-one !
Our duties here consisted of daily patrols,
and outpost duty at Muller’s and Donker’s .

* -~-—---...-;‘...

1m

THE~ E; ti: {T} l)

Passes oli'the Daakénsbeig.

Signs of the

approachingwet season became evident about
the3th instant Theb lue li1mament we had
seen for months withoutavestige of cloud.
gave way to stmmy skies, thund‘e1 com»
menced to g1owl, and lightning to iiickei 111*
the distance,.'giving notice of the iains to -.

come.

'

.

.

.

H

’1‘ 7H .E' EKGLE

-.

states that that weare likely to' embark for}2‘
home in a. month's time, and athiid goes to 'r
the opposite extreme and sys we are “111”:er
to Stay in South Afr icalot thiee ye'ais—Ugh.' l.
"

theienemyhad cut. the railway line, and burnt
the station at VV’aschbank. An order to
saddle up and turn out followed, and we
trot-ted off in the darkness to lngagane
station, entrained (120 men and horsesl and
went on to Dannhauser, reconnoitring the
line thence to Glencoe where we bivouacked
for. the night. A terriﬁc thunder-storm burst

at 10-30 pm

and lasted until 3a. in. Sleep

was quite out of the question, as we were
without shelter and liteially soaked through.
We saddled up at 4 p. m, and, after eight hours‘

riding, sighted the Boer raiders, about sixty
strong, six miles in front. We chased them
until they reached the foothills of the Drakensberg where we lost touch in another
tremendous storm, under cover of which
they escaped into the Orange River Colony

VV'e aiiived back at (:‘rlenco e, wet and weary,
after fourteen hou1s1n the saddle.
It rained all night and we had another wetbivouac. A Kafh'r store hard by~kept by a
Hindu tiader—sold out its stock of shirts in
record time, a dry shirt, even of the kind
manufactured for Zulus, being a. luxury not
to be despised by a wet man, and much
preferable to a wet patrician silk garment, or
an equally damp plebeian greyback.
Entraining next day we railed to lngagane
and reached Rooi Pynt camp at 3 a. 111., return-

ing, as we left. in the dark.

We have lately

shifted camp to the outskirts of Newcastle
town. Of the many rumours nowcurrent,
one is to the effect that General Buller is going
to China with 20,000 men: whilst another

spiration—if he has any left—to his brow.
The hill-wallah, who returns with the 7 birds,
is as keen and full of energy as a monkey is

of a silver Hunter watch, and Sergeant
Collison received a dressing-case from the

of mischief, but fully half the cold weather is

Sergeants

the summer

months in the hills, there

nothine' fearful in the prospect,

is

but to the

poor beggar who has “stuck it" on the plains
all tl11ougl1 the clog-days, the mere mention of

gone before the plains-wallah has entirely
shaken otf the apathy and torpor engendered
by the terribly trying heat of the summer.
Fortunately for him, although he may not
appreciate it at once, the cold weather, with
its possibilities of really hard, serious work,
comes round in time to rescue him from in.
sensibility. As may easily be imagined, his
first two or three days‘ work come to him
somewhat in the nature of shocus, but generally by the time the Commanding Ofﬁcer has
held his inspection of non-commissioned

ofﬁcersin the Riding School, over the pigsticking course, or round the “ Rat-pit " jumps,
and has informed the apathetic one that his
1iding'1s seVeial classes lowet than that ofthe
illustiiousJohn Gil pin, he begins to realise
he is waking from his long dream. A few
more shakes up will, as a rule, stimulate his
liver, start his menta linachinery going again,’
and restore him to his normal condition—
the smart cavalry ‘11on- com ’: the tactful
mediato1; the indispensable buttm; the goodlooking. good 1iding, good--d1illing Soigeant,

inscribed.

Wr‘

tournament on the 7th and 8th instants, when :1
Se1geant Sutch Was matched against their
heavyweight champion, Corpmal Smith. We
had greathopes of Sutch, who appearedin ﬁne
condition, but he was unlucky in stopping a.
nasty punch in the first round, and from then
011 he never had a chance. He fought very
gamely, and struggled to his feet time after
time, but in his half dazed condition his case
was hopeless, and he was easily disposed of
about halF- way thiough the second round

A photogIaph of the members of the Mess
was takena few days ago, and prior to the
departure of those for England. Should it
turn out successful, we hope to

induce

the

Editor to have it reproduced in The Eagle.
It should prove of interest to all ex-Royals.

“ SERGEANT."

S. S. F. Raven was the recipient

of “ B”, Squadron.

We hope

shortly to hear that our comrades are doing
well in the old country.
The social and sporting events of the past
few weeks include a dance given by the Dur-

hanis Sergeants Mess, a whist drive by the
Sergeants of the Oxfords, a hockey match
against the S. T. O. Olﬁcers and non-commissioned ofﬁcers, in which we were placed second

by ﬁve goals to two (Fisher and Cronin), and a

SHIKAREES AND THEIR METHODS.
It is very amusing to notice the different
methods adopted by different “ shikarees ”in
their pursuit of game.
Each one will tell you of his own system
which he believes to be the best.
A comrade of mine once gravely informed
me that he was in the habit, of an evening, of
taking his gun and. shooting the duck out of
the trees, when they came to roost, and men.
tioned he used to get quite a number '.
Alas! l have looked in vain for such trees.

series of games (cricket, tennis, and billiards)
against the Lucknow Sports Club, whose yet

How nice it would be, no water to wet your

undefeated champions disposed of us rather
cheaply. We are anxiously awaiting the
result of the infusion of young blood into the
now somewhat impoverished veins of the
mess. and a month or two should see us in top-

morning turnout in the bitter cold : just a

hole spo1ting form.

A p211 ty of tiVe guns went to Sanoda, neaily
foxty miles fiom Lucknow, on the 11th instant

and although theii bag was only 10 biace,
mostly’teal and snipe, they had an excellent
daysssport 011 (and 1 1. We hear.) the 1716813 or
lakes, there.
The Oxford Light Infantry helda boxing

feet, no mud to dirty your clothes, no early
chair and comfort under the shady trees,
Where, Oh ! where are those trees '2‘

Of course, as boys, we have often enjoyed a
happy, if perilous, afternoon, trying to catch
the tame duck in the parks at home, with a,
piece of bread and string, but never met with
much success, and perhaps got caught by
the angry park-keeper ourselves, which added
to the excitement I

Once I met a man whose favourite method
was to shoot duck and geese with a smallbore ritle (at leastthis is what he told me).

* '~---—-~...»..-.‘,..

THE EAGLE

methods again

until near enough to shoot.
Another I watched seemed to favour the
method of getting up to the game as quickly
as possible and then opening up with a sort

ances:
They start out carefully avoiding all water

of “rapid independent” ﬁre, then running

like poison and go miles out of their way to

after the frightened buck, ﬁring as he went.
I don‘t think he got much.

save themselves from wet- feet, but on arriv-

ing at the jheel the excitement overcomes

One I used- to knew could always tell you of

into the night, each trying to cap each other’s
yarn, till at last we have to desist, as I must
DOW.

tournament for the

Cup presented by Colonel de Lisle, has now

the number of shots it used to take to kill his
buck. He would go after the wounded animal
and shoot it again and again until at last it

started, and up to the time of writing two
matches have been played. The green is in
excellent condition, and some good cricket is

And then they can be shortly seen dressed

died from loss of blood—or lead-poisoning !

being witnessed.

very neatly in nothing but a helmet and a
very short shirt, wading through the weeds
like water nymphs with the morning sun

A friend of mine once tried shooting pig
from a tree, but the pig seemed to have all the

is as follows :——

glittering on their white limbs and dripping
shirts—a veritable sight/for the gods.
From the ducks' point of view this method
seems hardly ’air, for these sportsmen look
more like waterfowls themselves than human
beings. Crouching along with the tails of
their shirts gracefully ﬂoating behind them

and their guns held up like long beaks, .they

ed on, and although he ﬁred round after,
round the pig remained unscathed. till at
last after two or three hours’ sentry-go, the

pig decided to go home, and left my friend to
do the same.

method.

He did not recommend the

'-

Whilst away for a short shooting trip a

resemble huge cranes, until at last akslip,“
and one is under the water, and comes up
coughing and spluttering, which frightens all
the birds
There are plenty of other methods, one of

having purchased a small goat tied it up at
a convenient spot and then ensconced him.
self in a large tree
In the night (he said)
he saw a large panther and ﬁred, heard the

religious fervour how, whilst out buck shooting, armed only with riﬂes, they noticed one
large solitary goose winging his homeward
way, at a. height of about 200 yards, and how
simultaneously they ﬁred, and to their sur»

enormous horns the jackals stole the head in
the night. Consequently he only brought the
hind quarters into camp, but forgot that
there are other means of telling the sex of
an animal besides by its horns:
Still what matters. “Yarns" as most of
them are, we enjoy listening to them and most

have the luck to purchase some from a native.
Another favourite way with a certain class
is to attach yourself to a good shot, and take
care to ﬁre at the same time and in the same
direction as he does. You can (if you have
sufﬁcient cheek) always claim all birds that
fall, and casually remark it was a good shot
on your part.

as he always could get as many as he re‘
quired. A very good method I should think

stillness. “That's got him !" he said. It
had ! We found he’d shot the goat!
Another shikaree in accounting for, the
trophies he did not have, used to tell how

173

to

enough to drown all report of the riﬂe. He
said he thought it rather tame duck shooting

EAGLE

oer-militia

quietly shoot them, the distance being far

shooting decoys, but this is expensive as he
has to pay for them afterwards.
Of course you can aIWays tell the tale of a
tremendous bag and unfortunately lose them
out of the gharri coming home or you may

N*OOC

THE
He would gotoaxquietjheel, antimaahout 300
yards range pick out all the fat onesand- ..

With the introduction of the winter routine
at the beginning of the present month, all
signs of summer may be said to have departed. “Reveille” sounds at 6 A.Iv'. instead of
.5-30 A.M., parades take place after, instead of,
before, breakfast, and afternoon drills, things
unknown during the hot weather, are in full
swing. The
weather has undergone a
thorough change, and while the sun is still hot
in the middle of the day, the early mornings
are quite cold and the evenings only slightly
less so.
But if there are signs of work, so, too, are
there signs of play. This month sees the
annual Army Cup Race Meeting, and since
our drill ground marches with the Lucknow
h‘ace Course, now by far the most important
in Upper India, we are daily reminded of the
coming of this classic event by the strings of
horses, and crowds of owners, trainers,
jockeys, and syces which throng the ground
in the vicinity of the paddock.
Lucknow is invariably crowded during November, and this year there is every likelihood
of a record crowd, by reason of the presence
of His Excellency the Viceroy, who, with a
large party, makes a state visit to our city
during the forthcoming Race Week.

racks,and on the departure of the Viceroy
INDIA.

MEEK, AT THE METHODIST PUBLIsmxr

from Lucknow, it is expected “ C ” and “D ”
will go into camp for a week 01‘ so. We are

No.11.

now wondering if the extra duties in connection with His Excellency’s visit —guards,
escorts, etc.,—willallow us to participate in
the gay times arranged for that period.
Major Balfour has asked us to publish the
following :—
"’ The next gathering of the Old Comrades
of the Royal Dragoons will be held at the
Holborn Restaurant on the 28th of Novem—
ber. The last dinner was so well attended,
and such conﬁdence was expressed that at
the next dinner the attendance would be even
larger, that the Venetian Hall,

largest room in the

which is the

restaurant, has been

engaged for the second re-union. Applications for tickets should be made in plenty of
time to either Major K. R. Balfour, Naval and

Military Club, Piccadilly, or to Mr. W. Finn,
Head Porter’s Lodge, Gray’s Inn, W, C , as
it is again hoped to be able to publish a list of
those signifying their intention of being present, before the dinner is held.”

ltis unlikely that the present number of
The Eagle will reach England before the 28th
instant, so that the above will, we regret, not
be of much help. However, we drew attention

to the Old Comrades" Dinner in a previous
number, and gave Mr. Finn’s address, so that
those desirous of attending will surely have
acted upon that and made enquiries as to time
and place. All serving Royals send their
hear-tiest Wishes for a. successful gathering.

as gmte- .
Our readers, we are sure, will feel
for? his.
n
inso
Tomk
nel
Colo
to
ful as are we

splendid article “Tarleton of the Legion.”
will
which commences in the present, and The
our next, number.
be concluded in

THEIEACLE g

THE

exploits of eminent cavalry soldiers must
always be of particular interest to members
of our arm of the service, and in this case
additional interest lies in the fact that the
Tarleton family and the author’s are related
to each other, so that in a measure we may
Claim the famous Sir Banastre for our own_
Itisto be hoped that this will by no means
he the last contribution from the able pen of
our late Colonel.
The article which concludes in the present
number—“Hull Dock Strike—1893 ”——will
doubtless awaken memories for those who
participated in the exciting little civil cam—
paign. There must be many more such incidents which stand out in the history of the
Regiment during recent years, and we ask
that old Royals will see to it that these are

placed on record for the beneﬁt of the present and future generations of Royal Dragoons. It is interesting to note that the Hull

Dock Strike affair was the last occasion on
which the Martini-Henri carbine was carried
in the regiment, it being then superseded by
a carbine of smaller bore with Martini action,

namely, the MartiniMetford.
Our thanks are due to W. O. S. for his excellent little description.
The Band has returned from the hills, and
if we are to judge from the eulogistic notices

in the Naini Tal press, their presence in the
gay little summer resort has been genuinely
appreciated. As a sample, we quote one out
of some dozen such paragraphs. The Lake
Zephyr of October 14th says z~

“ The Band of the Royals ‘played out’ for the
“last time on Saturday, and are now packing
“ up for Lucknow. Our best wishes go with
“them. As a military Band, we have had

“two a week, guest nights at the Club, and
“the Grand and Metropole Hotels, garden
“parties and engagements of all kinds, have
“kept them busily employed, yet they neve1
“disappointed us in their 1egula1 biWeekly
“peiformances on the Flats. l‘hen they
“have p1oved themselves such good spo1ts‘,men and on occasions hospitable and com“teous hosts, and we feel sure that many
“. will look back in years to come with happy
“recollections to the Naini Tal season in
“which the Band of the Royal Dragoons were

I11 addition to the good wishes of the residents, the Band have brought back with them
something more substantial in the shape of a
handsome silver football trophy—the Rufener

Cup—-which they won by defeating their old
r1\als St Josephs College in the ﬁnal of the
Rufener Tournament. The two teams had
met previously, when they fought three close
battles in the ﬁnal of the Secretariat Cup.
In this instance the game was again hard
fought and closely contested, the Band winning by the marrow margin of a goal to love
through Waters who scored with a ﬁne shot
from a pass by Lavender soon after the start.
The local press comment highly on the ﬁne

defence of the Band and of Mr. Holt’s play in
the forward line
A series of social and sporting events
were held, during the week ending 7th instant,
by the Durham Light Infantry stationed in
Lucknow, to commemorate their Centenary
as Light Infantry, Prior to 1808 they were
known as the 68th Regiment, but in August of
that year, they, along with the 85th Regiment

(Shropshires), were created Light Infantry,

“ ample opportunities of conﬁrming what
“ most of us had only heard, that is, that it is

“one of the ﬁnest in the service

much to theamusement of the troops in gar.

‘they have got through has. been almost'
"colossal Dances. on an average of about

in some charmingly rendered Violin solos, and
Mrs. Steele, who played the former lady’s
piano accompanim ents.
Withthe return of ofﬁcers from home leave»,
our thoughts naturally turn to our winter
amusements of P010 and Hunting, which are
the only recreations we can still wedge in
between the long squadron training parades.
111 India, we have never yet won a ﬁrst class
Polo tournament, and though, perhaps, we
have only ourselves to blame, we have nevertheless had bad luck on several occasions.

class polo. This player'was always a- ﬁne
striker, but hitting is of little value, unless
every stroke hasan object. Colonel de Lisle,
who must now be one of the oldest players
in Tournament polo, is still as accurate and

as strong a hitter as ever, and if his game is
somewat slower than it was ten years ago, he
is still invaluable to coach a team, and to
captain it in an uphill game.
Among our younger players, Mr. Turner
is the most promising. He is well mounted

and has a good eye.

Time and practice should

6‘ up. ’1

and still retain that title. The sports, the
dance and the concert given in this connection
were each and all well done, and contributed

The work

.7,

EAGLE

risonl

At the latter we had the pleasure, 'mos t.

of us for the ﬁrst time, of hearing Mrs. Makinsr

Last year, for. instance, the loss of our best,

bring him to the front, and as No 20f the

Eorward, who went home suddenly to the
Cavalry School, spoilt any chance we had, and
as Mr. 'I‘omkinson will not arrive till the
end of January, it is doubtful if he will be able
to prepare himself and some ponies by the end
of February. A fortnight’s manoeuvres in
February will also prevent the team putting
in that practice, without which success can-

Subalterns Team, he should make his mark

not be expected

011 the other hand, fiom the few matches
already witnessed, it is evident that we shall
have a better team than ever before. MrMiles is a stronger player than last year, and
is probably the best mounted No. I in IndiaHis recent purchases of “ Bronze," a big
chestnut which played so well for Captain
Godfrey Heseltine last March, and ‘1 Dairyman,” which Colonel de Lisle sold to. the
Maharajah of Cooch Behar two years ago, have
strengthened his stud in a very marked manner. Major Makins, who is playing No. 2,
as substitute for Mr. Tomkinison, has a good
eye and is ve1y clever with his stick. Having
played in only one Indian tournament, and
being sh01t of 1st class ponies, he may
requiie time to be able to compete against
good backs The su1p1iseof the season is
certainly N1 Houston who has suddenly, not
only developed heisemanship of a high
order, but has simultaneously acquired a
clea1 insight into the game as playedin first

this season.

Another promising player is

Mr. Rube who is working hard and improving
daily.

It is more than probable that he will

win his place in the Junior team, in

spite of

having played so short a time. It will be interesting for our readers to watch the result
ofa season’s

play, and see whether these

young players reach the full extent of our
expectations
During the Poona Racing season, which
has just come to an end, the Regimental G.
R’s were 1eniesented by M1. Charrington
who spent ch1ee months at the lacing headhuarte1s of Western India. We must once
mo1e congratulate him on his success, 1id-

ing,

as he did, two winners and 1unning

into alplace 011 six occasions. The second of
his two winning mounts was Captain Grant's
pony Perquisite, who won the Pony Cham-

pion Chase under the welter weight of 11st.
12lbs by a head. In the previous week he
was second in the Grand Annual on Mr.
Rube’s Chassepot, which failed by alength
to beat Seciusion, although in receipt of
Yibs ;whilst two other places we1e gained on
.Mr. Cosens Umutbee1n hurdle 1aces at the
second extra and closed meetings in August.
Again this year it cannot be said that

the PrOSRFvQFE of duckshootingareparticii-

. - 1 1.x; :4
a? raw.

176

'~""'-—«--.~.«.‘...

1‘73

THE EAGLE

THE EAGLE“
larly promising. The drought of last year
had dried up the jheels to such an extent,
that the normal fall of rains this year has
barely suiﬁced to ﬁll them again, and there
is a noticeable shortage of water in many

places where excellent sport has been
enjoyed in days past. However, there can
be no doubt that the duck are coming in
their thousands wherever water is suﬁicient
A party of six guns from “A” and “ B”
Squadrons who rode out from their camps
accounted for 70 ducks and geese on Sunday,

November lst. So perhaps after all, provided
that there are good Christmas rains, we may
havea fair season, but nothing out of the com.
mon is to be expected with so many jheels
nearly dry.

The Regimental pack of hounds returned

on the Electric Tramways at Hampton Court.
Elliott, whom I met at Ascot Races, has become quite fat ! I, like Micawber, am waiting
for something to turn up. I have received
several offers of employment, but, so far,

nothing quite

suitable

Of the First or the Royal Regiment ofDrngoon‘s, containing an account of its formation in the reign of

Among the many attractions during Race
week, will be a performance by the Regimental Circus, at which Their Excellencies.
and party have promised to be present.
Little time has been allowed for the working

up of the different items, but the performers
are now nightly busy in the arena, and
under the direction of Major Steele there is

little doubt that the show will be as good as.

sequent services to the present time.

By General C. P. de Ainslie.

(Continued)
The Royal Dragoons marched, in October,
1797, to Exeter and Taunton, whence 1n the
following summer they moved to Radipole
barracks, Weymouth; and on the 10th of

August the following order was received, in
consequence of which the horses’ tails were
cut :——

Major-General Thomas Garth, from the 22nd

goon Guards, are to be mounted on nag-tailed

Mr. Chapman whose prolonged absence from

but once the majority of these are gathered,
hunting will begin. The pack now consists

the regiment has been due to sickness.

horses of the colours of bay and brown.
“The Second, or Royal North British Regiment of Dragoons, are to be mounted on nag-

of 8* couples, and 3% more are expected from
home during the month.

come to Mr. Wilson-Fitzgerald also, who
arrived in India a few days ago, and joins
the regiment on ﬁrst appointment. He is

tailed grey horses.
“ All other regiments of heavy cavalry on

Mr_ Thompson, our late Regimental Sergeant-Major, writing from Southall near
London, says :-—-“Many thanks for
The

posted to “ 0;” Squadron under Major Evelyn

on nag-tailed horses of the colours of bay,

Wood. Mr. Miles is ofﬁciating Adjutant at
present, pending the arrival of Mr. Tomkin-

brown. and chesnut.
“The custom of mounting trumpeters on

son.

grey horses is to be discontinued, and they

Minto Fancy Fete in Calcutta in January,
1907.

a vast amount of good, for they look ﬁt
and well, and thoroughly prepared for the
coming season, which, we hope, will be as

Eagle. The news of the good old corps
was both cheering and saddening What a
number of changes in the Sergeants’ Mess in
alittle time! But of course the old must
make room for the new. I have not many
old Royals since my arrival in England, and

I am glad to say they, 'ni‘ost of them, appear to
‘be doing well.

Gunton is on the advertising

‘s‘taﬁ of a well-known jou rnal. ‘ Corporal Rapps

With the exception of Captain Lambert
whose leave is extended owing to urgent
private aifairs, all leave ofﬁcers are now back

at head-quarters.

wish him better health.

We-

We extend a wel-

the British establishment are to be mounted

arelin future to be mounted on horses of the

A concert given by the Regimental Drama
tic Club was held in the theatre on Friday,

colour or colours prescribed for the regiments to which they belong.

ful. 'A detailed account Will appear in our
~
’
next issue.

“ Adjutant-General,

Boise‘Ghér‘ia

being placed on half-pay.

In July ttroops

were ordered to Trowbridge to as51st the
civil power in the suppression of riots, and
in October the regiment moved to Exeter
and Taunton, with detached troops on coast
duty in Cornwall.

War with France was declared anew on the
10th of March, 1803, and in April the Royal

Dragoons moved to Dorchester, Radipole,
and Wareham barracks, whence in July to
Arundel and Chichester, the establishment
,
- , ‘_
'
to ten troops.
,g In April, t804, the regiment Was statloned
atlpswichand Woodbridge, thence it ‘prp-

“ HARRY Canvnar, ;

. 2

A treaty of peace with the French Republic having been signed at Amiens, on the
27th of March, 1802, a reduction of two troops
was made in the establishment, the ofﬁcers

being at the same time increased from eight,

13th instant, in aid of the Soldiers’ FurloughHomes, Landour. Landour is situated in
the lower Himalayas, and many men of theRegiment annually spend their holidays at.
the Homes. The concert was very success-

coast duty in Sussex.
On the 7th of January, 1801, His Majesty
conferred the colonelcy of the regiment upon
Light Dragoons, in succession to LieutenantGeneral Goldsworthy, deceased.
Towards the end of May the regiment
moved to Canterbury, and furnished numerous detachments on revenue duty in the
towns and villages on the coast of Kent,
where they assisted in making large seizures
0f smuggled goods, for which they received
a reward of £1 per man.

from England, we are glad to welcome back

Naini Ta], where. under the able management of Pte. Holmes, they appear to have
done well. Their six months’ rest during
the hot weather has evidently done them

and Epsom, with a squadron detached for

“GENERAL ORDERS.

enjoyable and successful as the last. At
present there are too many standing crops,

that witnessed by the Viceroy at the Lady

1800, an encampment of about 30,000 men was
formed on Swinley Common, .near Windsor,
where the Royals arrived in July. The
troops were frequently exercised in the presence of the Royal Family, and the King re»
viewed the several corps previous to their
departure. On the 11th of August, the regiment quitted the camp for Croydon barracks

“ The heavy cavalry, with the exception of
the two regiments of Life Guards and Royal

Among those returning

their summer quarters at

from

ed to Salisbury.
'
In the course of the summer of the year

King Charles the Second, and of its sub-

Meanwhile I have

come to the conclusion, that nothing beats
soldiering. ” And so say we, Mr. Thompson.

In November following, the regiment mov-

HISTORICAL RECORD

Regiment of Horse Guards, are to be mounted
on nag-tailed horses.
“The First, or King’s Regiment of Dra.
goon Guards ; the Firstkor Royal Regiment
of Dragoons ; the Third, or King’s Own Regiment of Dragoons, are to be mounted on black
‘
nag-tailed horses.
“The Second, or Queen’s Reglment of Dra-

last week

179

and Pte. Hamilton, late of ‘ B ' Squadron, are

., ,,, _

.“.-l‘OithiAzlgust,_,;[799..’!

ceedediin November toerlchester, where it
,_,
,. ,
passedthe-winten‘ -

. ....-...._».m.~.‘..

180

T 1112111111111

The Royal Dragoons left Colcheste1 in
April, 1805, for Yo1k, Newcastle--On- Ty ne, and
Birmingham. In Janua1y, 1806, they returned to Woodbridge, and in March ensuing
they once moreproceeded n01 th, and arriving
in Scotland the headquarte1s were ﬁxed at

Edinburgh with detached troops at Dunbar,
Haddington, and Perth, the regiment having

marched upwards of 600 miles in the preceding months .
Embarking from Scotlandin January, 1807,
the regiment proceeded to Ireland, from
which country it had been absent one hundred and ﬁfteen yea11,s and 011 ar rival the
headquar1te1s were stationed at Dundalk,

with detached troops at Belturbet,Lisbu1n,
Monaghan, Sligo, Enniskillen, and Londonde1ry. In June, 1808, it marched to Dubl1111,
with troops detached to Carl my and Athy.
The state of affairs in the Spanish Penin-

sula now induced His Majesty’s Government
to send thither a force to the assistance of

the patriots in Portugal and Spain, which two
countr1es had been taken possession Of by

Napoleon, since the 18111 of May, 1804, elect
ed Emperor Of the F1 ench. This force,
under the command of Lieutenant- Gene1al
the Honourable Sir Arthui Welllesiey, K. B
landed1n Portugal on the 1st of August, 1806,
but after the Victories of Rolica and Vimiera,

THE EAGLE

cantonments with headquaiters

Clonmel,

whence, in August following, it once more

marched to 001 k Whele eight troops of eighty
men and eighty horses each embarked for
P01 tugal unde1 Colonelthe Honourable George
deGiey. The transports sailed 011 the 2nd of
September and on the 12th and 13th of the
month .the regiment landed at Lisbon and
occupied the barracks at Belem.
The condition of the Royal Dragoons on
arrival in the Peninsula will be best under—
stood by the following extract from a letter
from Lieutenant-General Viscount Wellington, K. B., to Lieutenant-General Payne,
commandingthe cavalry :—
,..“ LISBON, October 10111, 1809.
“MY DEAR GENERAL,

“1 arriVed here yesterday, and I saw the
Royal D1ag00ns in the street, and 1 think that
in my life I have never seen a liner regiment
They a1eve1y strong the horses in a ve1y
good condition, and the legiment appa1ently
in ‘high Older.’ ”
The British army in Portugal, commanded
by Lord Wellington, was at this moment
occupying quarters 011 the Mondego. The
Royal Dragoons, i-n January-1810, marched a
few leagues up the country to Santarem and

those opelations were b1ought to an end by

Torres Novas, in the province of Estremadura,

the unsatisfactory 0.1nvention of Cintra
made with Marshal Junot on the 30th of the

Alphalo in the Alemtejo.

month by General Sir Hugh Dal1‘,ymple Ba1,t
The British being now commanded by Lieu

tenant-General Sir John Moore, K. B., advanced into Spain to the assistance of the
patriots in that country upon whose throne
had been placed by Napoleon his brothe
r
Joseph, and the Royal regiment of Dragoons
having been ordered to join that army, arrive
d
in Cork for embarkation for Lisbon; but the

news of the result of that expedition, and the
battle of Corunna on the 16th of January,
1809, occasioned the order to be countermand
-e.d The regiment 1n consequence remarried

181

at Cork until April, when it took up extensive

whencei nFebruary they moved to Nina and

,

,The enemy having a great superiority of
numbeis, the British General was reduced to
the necessity of acting on the defensive, but
not the less was he 1esolved to maintain as

ing Belmonte on the 9th Of June, proceeded to
Villa Velha, whence, on the 1st of July, they
marched to Villa de Touro, and towards the
end of the month to Alverca. Ciudad Rodrigo
fell on the 10th of July, and on the 30th
of the month Lieutenant-Colonel Wyndham
of the regiment was taken prisoner while
visitingthepickets there. Lieutenant-Gener.
al Sir Stapleton Cotton, Bart, commanding
the cavalry, recommended for the vacancy
Major Clifton, of the 8rd Prince of Wales’s
Dragoon Guards, which was conﬁrmed with
the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel on the 22nd of
November ensuing.
The advanced posts of the British army
having removed to E‘rexadas, the French
besieged and took Almeida on the 20th of
August, and on the day following they attack»
ed a squadron of the Royals and one of the
14th Light Dragoons on picket at Frexadas
under Major Dorville of the Royals. The
enemy brought forward a superior force of

cavalry supported by infantry, but the two
squadrons, undaunted by the great numbers,
charged the French with signal gallantry and
drove them from the field with the loss of
many men killed and wounded and eight prisoners.
The Royals lost two men and one
horse wounded.
In a despatch of the 28th August, writing
of this affair, Lord Wellington observes :——“ A
picket of this regiment (Royals) made a
gallant and successful charge on a party of
the enemy’s cavalry and infantry, and took
some prisoners.”

possible a

frontier

position,

was threatened the Royal Dragoons adVanced to Belmonte, in the province of Beira,

where they arrived on the 8th of May/1 The
French, commanded by Marshal Massena,
Prince of Essling, proved, ‘however, to be so

7N0. l.
‘1 TARLETON OF THE LEGION.”
One hundred and twenty-seven years
ago the curtain fell on the six years of war
which had raged between Britain and the
revolting American States defying her
authority, and with the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, King George’s dominion
over his Western subjects came to an end.
Carried on as it had been under enormous
difﬁculties. and, as must be added, for the
most part with small strategical skill on the

part of some of the Generals employed 1n it,
the war nevertheless was not wantmg 111
many glorious episodes, and on no ﬁelds
Ofbattle has the dogged bravery Of the
British soldier been more conspicuous than
in the campaigns between 1776 and 1781.
A few ye1rs back there appeared in the
Corn/1111 Magazine an article by Atlay under
the above heading, and by the kindness
of Messrs. Smith and Elder, the Proprietors
of the Magazine, permission has been given to
make use of his interesting and most stirring narrative in. recalling Tarleton’s explmts
in this sketch. Access to letters and papers
in connection with the latter now in the
possession of the Tarleton family, has also
been available, and thus it has been poss1ble

to supplement the details given by Atlay w1th
information derived from these.

The incident of the ﬁght with the savage
horse appeared in the Times of many years

during the

aoo, at the time when Rarey, the horsetamer,

movement, and particularly in a skirmish at

arid his system were so much in vogue in
England. It is an authentic one, and the

the Royal

employed

and

when, at the end of April, Ciudad Rodrigo

BY COLONEL H. TOMKINSON. .

Dra-

The allied army retiring,

goons were actively
long as

BRITISH LEADERS OF CAVALRY

Alverca, on the 2nd of September, on the

main road to Almeida, in which a sergeant
was wounded. On the 19th of the month
they reached Santa Combu Dao, and again, on
the 2151;,- they had an affair in which one man
Was wounded, and another wounded and taken
prisoner.
1
(To-be continued.)

general accuracy of the description may be
.
.
relied upon. .
Banastre Tarleton was born in Lancash1re
in 1754, his family having resided in that
county. since .the thirteenth century.

He proceeded to London, with the. object of
reading. for the Bar; beforehe was twenty,

182

THE

years old, but he quickly decided on a military
career, and in

April, 1775,

Cornet in the King’s

was

Dragoon

gazetted

Guards.

Shortly after his appointment to that regiment he volunteered for active service in the

American'War of Independence, and he join-

ed the Army and fought under Howe, Clinton
and Cornwallis from 1778 to 1778, becoming,

THE .E-LA 11W

EAGLE
interior. With his Foot and Dragoons 'he
made a rapid march on the enemy, came up
with then: at nightfall and scattered them by
a sudden attack, capturing, in addition to
numbers of prisoners, four hundred of their
horses.
Charleston surrendered to the British on
May llth, and with his now restored cavalry

at the age of 23, BrigadeMajor of Cavalry,

Tarleton proceeded by Clinton’s orders in

In the retreat from Philadelphia to New York
in June of the latter year he commanded the
rear-guard, having throughout the campaign,
according to Atlay, “displayed enterprise,
extreme rapidity in marching, and a genius
in seizing the precise moment for attack,

At this period the Cavalry of our

pursuit of General Burford who was retiring
after an ineffectual attempt to relieve Lincoln.
Taking only a troop of the 17th and about
250 of his Dragoons and mounted Infantry,
with a light gun, Tarleton, in sultry and
oppressive weather, covered a distance of over
one hundred miles in ﬁfty-ﬁve hours and came
up with the enemy on May 29th in the Waxhaw
county. Men fell out from exhaustion and

Army in America was represented by the

horses died by the way, but Tarleton replaced

16th and 17th Dragoons.

the latter by others taken from the farms in
the advance, and arrived on the scene of
action with less than two-thirds of his force.

being alsoin the heat of the fray whenever
hard riding and

required.”

desperate ﬁghting

were

It was with the

nucleus of one troop of the latter regiment

that, in 1779, the celebrated British Legion
was formed, and to the command of this,
Tarleton, now a. Brevet-Major of 25, was

appointed as Lieutenant-Colonel. The Legion
contained a mixed force of

Dragoons and

Foot soldiers, and itis recorded that the troop
of the 17th retained their scarlet jackets, the
Legion of Cavalry adopting green clothing
and being known as Tarleton’s Green Horse.
In December, 1779, General Clinton at New
York, hearing of the unsuccessful attack
made by b’Estaing on Savannah, which was
hcld by the British, embarked a force of
8,000 men'and landed at Tybee in Georgia.

Storms overtook the ﬂeet conveying the troops
and many losses were occasioned, including

that of nearly all the horses of Tarleton’s
command, which formed a part of the expedition.

The cOmmunications between Charles-

ton, which place was occupied by the Americans under General Lincoln, and the interior,
were kept'open by their mOunted troops,
and in April, 1780, Tarletou, having to some
extent'replaced his lost horses, adVanced with
a View of cutting off Charleston ‘from ,the

campaign chieﬂy of midnight surprises and
encoun1615 and daring raids in which Tarleton found a congenial field. He hunted down
many of the notorious rebels and carried
them off almost single- handed from their
homes, he covered

immense distances on

these rides, accompanied only by a guide and
afew of the Legion, and would return after
an absence of two days with his captive

A messenger despatched from Cornwallis

Heimmediately charged, and with complete
success, over one hundred of the Americans
being killed and two hundred prisoners taken,
Burford himself just escaping on one of the
baggage animals. Tarleton's horse was shot
under him in the melee, and to this fact he
attributed the reprisals of his men, who, imagining their leader to be killed, took a. summary revenge on their opponents for his
fall. But of Tarleton himself it was written
by an American historian, “He thundered

along the red roads of the Waxhaws and dyed
them a deeper red with the blood of the sur,
prised Militia." As Atlay says, “ Tarletonwhen his blood was up, was no Bayard, and
it is only too probable that the quality of

mercy found scant display in this, as in other
of his combats.”
»Soon after the affair of the, Waxhaws, General, Clinton left with a part of his army for

to Taileton w hilst awaiting in his camp an
111te1v1ew with the latter had his attention
att1acted by the v iolent plungings of a horse,
which two grooms, one on either side, were
endeavouring to lead to the Colonel’s tent.
He describes the scene 01" what followed in
these words, ——“The horse was a large and
poweiful brute, beautifully fo1 med and black
as a crow, with an eye which actually seemed
to blaze with rage at the Iﬂestiaint put upon
him.

His prog1ess was one continued bound,

at times swinging the grooms cleai fiom the
eaith as lightly as though they were but
tassels hung on his huge Spanishbit, so that
with difficulty they escaped being trampled
undei foot I asked the meaning of the scene,
and was infer med that the horse was one that
Tarieton had heaid of as being a magnificent
and
animal, but one altogether un managable,

so delighted was he with the description that

he sent all the way down into M001e County
Where his owne1 iesided and puicliised him
the extravagant price of one hundred
at
guineas, and that, moreovei, he was about to

111

femininely beautiful, Tarieton possessed a
form which was a 'pérfect model of man y
strength and vigOur. With no particle 'o‘f
superﬂuous ﬂesh, his rounded limbs and full
broad chest seemed moulded from iron, at
the same time displaying all the elasticity
usually accompanying elegance of proportion.

His dress, strange as it may appear, was'a
jacket and breeches of white linen, ﬁtted to
his fo1m with the utmost exactness. Boots
of russet leather half- Way up lhe'leg, the
broad tops of which were turned down, the

heels garnished with spurs of immense size
and length of rowel. On his headwas a lowcrowned hat, curiouslyformed from the snow
white feathers of the swan, and'inhis hands he
cairied a heavy scourge, with shot well twist-

ed into its knotted lash.

After looking round

for a moment or two, as though to command

the attention of all, he advanced to the side
of the horse and disdaining the use of the
stirrup, with one bound threw himself into
the saddle, at the same time calling on the
grooms to let go. For an instant the animal
seemed piialyzed, then, with a perfect yell
of 1age, bounded into the air like a~stricken
The stiuggle for mastery had comdeer
menced, bo1nd succeeded bound with the
Every device which
rapidity of thought.
animalinstinct could tea,ch was resorted to
by the maddened brute to shake off its unw,lcomehu1den but in vain. Its ruthless
riderprovedirresistible,and, clinginglike fate

itself, applied the scourge and rowel like a

said I.
ride him that mmning ‘Ride hiui,’
stieak
a
back
to
try
well
‘Why, one had as

ﬁend. The punishment was too severe to be
long withstood and at length, after a succes

The mad b1 ute will ce1tainly be

sion of frantic efforts, the tortured animal,

‘Neve1 i'eai foi him,’
the death of him
him, his
said my companion. ‘Never fear for

with a scream of agony, leaped forth upon
the plain’ and flew across it with the speed of
an arrow. The ground upon Which' Tarleton

oflightning.

By this time the
time is not come yet
we were,
her se had been brought up to wheie

aside
the curtainof the marquee was pushed
savage
the
from
d1awn
was
and attention

had pitched his camp was almost perfectly
level and something more than half a mile in
circumference Around this, afte1 getting
him under way, he continued to urge his

Cornwallis remaining in

rider;
steed to 1ivet itself upon his dauntless

command of the British troops in South Caro-

and a pictme of a man he was! Rathei5e-

furious steed, amid the raptures a'nd shouts

These being insufﬁcient for a.,further

LOWthe middle height and with aface almOSt

pfthe admiring soldiery, plying his whip

New York, Lord
lina.

advance into the country, the war became a

in

THE EAGLE-

THE EAGLE

and spur at every leap until, weary and worn
down by its prodigious eiforts, the tired
creature discontinued all exertion, save that

to which it was urged by its merciless rider.
Finally, exhausted from the conﬂict, Tarle-

mit of the pass at 3 A.M., after a by no means
easy climb in the dark. On these excursions
there is always a chance of getting a shower
of bullets at dawn from an unseen enemy
laying up for you. However, day broke quite

ton drew up before his tent and threw him-

peacefullijith nothing in sight, except a lot

self from the saddle.

and clotted stream; Tarleton himself was
pale as death, and, as soon as he was satisﬁed of his success, retired and threw himself

of land and rocks. We afterwards heard that
a Boer post of twenty-ﬁve men had been Withdrawn the same night, so we just missed the
chance of some fun. On retiring from the
berg after completing our reconnaissance, we
Were joined by a company of the Devons and
two guns, and so we established this post,
Fort Kenigsberg, to prevent the enemy com—
ing for supplies to the farms in the vicinity.
The formidable name might lead you to

on his couch. In a short time I was called
into his presence and delivered my des-

earthworks and solid masonry.

patches.

I have witnessed many stirring

ever, is not the case; our Fort bears no resem-

scenes, both during the revolution and since,

blance to those on Portsdown hills, and even
the magazine fort in the Phoenix Park would
scorn relationship with our stronghold, the
defences of which consist of a few sangars
of piled-up rocks, and some barbed wire.
Our camp, however, is outside the perimeter.
The name Konigsberg is taken from aGerman
Mission station which with its little white
church nestles in a grove of trees close by.
The ﬂock is still here, but the shepherd, alas !

The horse was com-

pletelysubdued, and,:at the word of command,

followed him round like a dog. The victory was
complete. His eye of ﬁre was dim and lustreless, drops of agony fell from his drooping
front, while from his labouring and mangled

sides the blood and foam poured in a thick

butI never saw one-half so exciting as the
strife between that savage man and savage
horse.”
(To be continued.)

assisting the Boers during the siege of Ladysmith.
The district round here under the berg is
knownas Normandien. There is rather good
scenery of the wild, rocky type, with plenty
of game, ferns, ﬂowers and snakes. Going
out for several days at a time, we visited all
the farms in search of rebels, bivouacking at
night.
The veldt looks nice and green again, quite
refreshing to the eye after the burnt-up look

movements from the keen eyes of the Boer

it wears for the better part of the year.

scouts and their Newcastle friends, our party

of ﬁfty men marched to the fOOt of the berg

day out on patrol I came across a mass of
bush covered with white roses, evidently

where we halted andgave the horses a feed;

planted byvsome early settler whose house

Resuming bur march we arrived at the sum-

"stood there, but of whiCh n6 trace remains.

of the regiment being at Newcastle—usually
consisting of a few dismounted men and sick
horses—and the remainder of the regiment

being scattered far and wide on various detached duties. However, I have only to tell

you of the doings of the particular party I
am with, which, early in the month, made a
reconnaissance of the Drakensberg in the
Vicinity of Muller’s Pass. Leavmg Newcastle

m5

Perhaps burnt and the owners killed by the
natives in one of the frequent raids that took
place in the early history of the colony.
It is rumoured that we are going further
up country and that another regiment will
take our place here. We also hear that Mr.
Kruger and his entourage are very disconsolate over the rebuff they received from the
German Emperor, who politely but ﬁrmly refused to receive them.
The Paris Figaro, while commiseratingfwith
Mr. Kruger, “rejoices at his departure from
France, as this means the disappearance of
aninstrument of agitation and annoyance.”
Their hopes of European intervention must

men were under canvas. Picquets were
posted in each of the docks, and we were reinforced by thirty men of “B " Squadron.

be now ﬁnally shattered.
General Buller issued the following order,
dated November 19th :—
“General Sir Redvers Buller desires to
express his grateful thanks to all the ofﬁcers,
non-commissioned ofﬁcers and men of the

became quite expert in dodging anchors,
chains, coils of rope, and other lumber on the

Natal Field Force for their unvarying support
and constant cooperation,
The task set before the Natal U‘ield Force

was no small one, and it has been successfuly
accomplished, though with the loss of many

dear fr ends and gallant comrades, by the
valour, endurance, and splendid discipline of
the troops and the admirable organisation of
the Lines of communication.
To com mand such a force has been thegreat-

For afortnight or so things went pretty
smoothly, and Wilberforce on his perch high
above the Land of Green Ginger, looked down
on a strange but peaceful mixture in the
streets below. The docker in brown fustian,
with the inevitable black cutty in his mouth,
the fisherman in his thick blue guernsey with
his arms thrust to the elbows in his trousers
pockets, ships’ ﬁremen with grimy faces, and
seamen of all nations, for ships were “ laid
up,” and there was no work to do. We soon
settled down to dock

quays.

duty,

and the

horses

We were provided with a lunch of.

bread, cheese and beer by the shippingowners,
who also gave us a shilling a day per man for
extra messing, and supplied us with mattresses, so we were not particularly anxious for
the strike to ﬁnish and to go back to York,
riding school, and squadron drill!
One day, being detained on deck duty, an
officer of ours (who, by the way, was very fond
of tent-pegging) telephoned to his servant at
headquarters for his lunch. Imagine his feelings when some threequa rters of an hour

afterwards his "Handy Andy ” turned up with
a lance!

Another sixty men arrved from York

est possible pleasure, and Sir Redvers Bul-

aboutthe middle of April, and a week later we

ler regrets deeply that he has not been able
to tell each and all of them how much he has
gloried in the honour of being their commander ”
Yours,

were out all night at a big timber fire in the
Victoria docks.
Hull is, of course, the chief port- for the
timber of Sweden and Nor way, and the Victoria docks had some acres of stacks which were

0L OL
HULL DOCK STRIKE-—1893.
( Concluded. )

One
After a few days in billets we were quar.
tered at the Volunteer drill hall, Londesboro’
Street, the horses being picketed in the
adjoining drill ﬁeld, where, too, some of our

ﬁred by the strikers.

The mob cut the hose

of the tire engines, and some of our men were
struck with stones when ordered to clear the
place. As a spectacle it was magniﬁcent and

was reported to have been seen forty miles
away across the Humber in Lincolnshire.
The Citadel Hotel outside the dock caught
ﬁre and was burnt to the ground.

_

Nothing much occurred after this, until

r """"'"‘~-~~.=‘w

as

early in May when some oiljmills near the
Alexander docks were ﬁred and several horses
burnt. Later in the month, on Whit- Monday,
we had proceeded to the Alexander docks, and

after posting vedettes were exercising

our

horses on the riverside, when a vedette galloped up and reperted a row. We raced back
through the docks, and through some thousand free labourers who were turning out
armed with heavy sticks studded with nails,
iron bars, and other fearful and wonderful

looking weapons.

We thought the strikers

had broken into the docks, but found the row
was outside, the (lockers having attacked a
number of “blacklegs” who were carrying
bedding across the open space between the
Alexander and Victoria docks.
A strong force of police held the gates and
received the full beneﬁt of a cross-ﬁre of
stones from both par ties. We were drawn up

of Oranges.‘ Sometimes we would stroll over
to the Customs House and watch goods and
baggage being overhauled, coming to the
conclusion that one would have to be pretty
smart to be a Successful smuggler nowav
days.
‘
One day a large Finland steamer came in

and lay close to our shed.

It so happened on

that day we had a double allowance of beer
and bread and cheese, so we invited the Fins
to join us. They accepted with alacrity. A
bar of “ Sunlight” or a few sheets of sand

paper would have done them no harm, but
probably the dirt kept them warm in their
cold climate.
The Queen’s birthday saw the end of the
strike, and the following day we left Hull bV
march route, passing through Beverley with
its ﬁne old Minster, and several pretty

vill

ages en route to Market Weighton, a sleepy

and expecting an order to clear the streets—a

little town which our advent quite woke up,

magistrate with us preparing to read the Riot
Act—when the mounted police appeared on
the scene and soon scattered the mob, not,
however, without receiving a severe pelting.

it being more than forty years since troops

One day we witnessed a rather neat practical joke played on the police.
They rad re.
ceived several warnings that attempts would
be made to dynamite the dock gates, and
shortly after this a small boat containing two
men was seen creeping along towards the
dock, and was instantly pursued by a palice
boat and captured. A suspicious-looking
package was

taken

therefrom and carried

gingerly by a constable to the centre of an
bpen'space and placed most carefully upon

had passed through.

There were ten of us

billeted at one public-house and

sleeping ac-

commodation was extremely limited, consisting as it did of lialf-a'dozen mattresses on
the ﬂoor of a small room.
We paraded the next morning, honoured by
the attendance of ninety-nine per cent of the
population, the remainder being at their bed»
room windows
Four hours on the march
brought us back to York, thus bringing to a.
close a not unwelcome break in the monotony
of barrack life.

W. O. S.

the ground.
An Inspector now appr ached, and after
waving everyone back to a safe distance, he
applied his ear to the mysterious parcel, then
began with a delicate touch to remove the

SERGE ANTS’ MESS NOTES.

the change in uniform from White to red, and

Banting and “ Buck” Sutton, he turned out

coated members presented a. curiously un:

many smart recruits. Indeed, several of
our presentvday mess members had the good
fortune to be drilled by him as youngsters,
He served all through the South African war
in “ C” Squadron under Lord Basing, and
later, Major Makins, his troop ofﬁcer being
that gallant little soldier, the late Lieutenant
Malcolm Knowles. Coming to India. with
the Regiment in,1904, he left in 1906 to take
up an appointment as Sergeant-Instructor to

the Northern Bengal Mounted Riﬂes at Darjeeling, the appointment he held at the time
of his death which occurred at Kalchini on the
12th October last. The shock of his death
was perhaps made greater by the news received. only afew weeks previously that he
intended Visiting the Regiment on a “ re
fresher ” course.
Dear old “ Donovan;” he was by nature a
silent man, and off parade rarely uttered a.
word. He was reputed to have made but one
speech in his life, and that, on the occasion

of a certain Christmas dinner, consisted of
seven words. He had recently received the
medal for Long Service and Good Conduct.
Stallibr‘ass~—or “ Stally " and “ tubble ”
as he was called on accout of

his

uncommon

name—joined the Regiment in 1897 at Dundalk, and served all his time in “ A " Squad
ron. Royals who left a little prior to that year
will remember his brother in the regiment
who was employed as Orderly Room Clerk.
Like Ross, Stallibrass served through the late
campaign, and on the return ofthe regiment
to England, he was made Sergeant. For the
last year he had been employed as manager of

It is our painful duty to record under this

the Regimental Coffee Shop, and was admitted to hospital on the 15th of last month,
.w-here he died on the 25th, from ptomaine

ourselves exploring the vessels by the quays,
and theslhe'ds, one of which was full of boxes

bersof the Regiment: for-upwards of eigh~

wrappingsf

Cover'after cover was

removed

, .With the coming of the cold weather comes

teen years. He was an excellent rider and
drill-instructor, and during the time he was
employed in the Riding School under Captain

heading the sad news of the death of two wellknown members of the Mess, namely, Sergeant W. Ross, and Sergeant Percy Stalli»
(brass
The. former, better known as “ Dono—
vvan” Ross,‘Was a familiar pers0nage tomem-

with great care, eventually disclosing-two
bricks ! When’on dock duty we used to amuse

in

THELQAGLE

THE EAGLE

poisoning.

for the ﬁrst few daysvthe sight of scarletfamiliar sight in the Mess.

Then, too, owing,

to the absence of the two squadrons in camp,
the Mess-rooms have lately been little occupied. Now, with everybody present, there
is a “ full house,” and the hasty coming and
going of the members, the hurried meals, and
the little Squadron councils with note-booas
much in evidence would suggest to the most
casual observer that something is going on,
No one has a minute to spare; one is for
squadron training, another for gymnasium,
another for mounted Band practice, and when
these daylight performances are over for the
time being, parade states for the morrow,
circus rehearsals, and such like occupy the
attention of most of us during the evening Only the caterer knows the joy of dolce
far went». and even his joy is tempered with
the half longing to be up and doing with his
duty brothers. When any extra work is to
be done, it is done, yet not without the accom—
paniment of “ grOusing ” which every soldier
Strangely enough,
deems his prerogative.
though, it is during busy times that we are
seen at our best Did we but admit it, we are
never happier than when hard worked. Our

health is better, and consequently our spirits ,
and in the rush of life there is no time for
brooding, thinking of home, railing at a fate
which compels us to exist in an impossible
climate, and the dozen other complaints which
in our slack time,

makes us bad-tempered,

cynical, or absolute molluscs.
The Durhams’ Centenary celebrations gave
as several opportunities for frivolling, and a.
number of the members were present, both
at the ball and the concert,

while the sports,

d
’ which were admirably arranged and carrie
nts.
Sergea
m
Durha
the
of
out, saw us guests

He was much esteemed by the

This battilion is shortly leaving Lucknow,

be sadly

and the two messes being on very amicable
terms- we shall lose many friends.

members ofthe
missed.

Mess and will
-

s. . .M_.~..~....m.w.,.

THE EAGLE

138

Changes are still occurring in the Mess new members coming in, old members going
out, and those that stay, going up in the promotion-roll. Cooke, our Fencing Instructor,
IS promoted S. S. M. in “A ” Squadron, his
place being ﬁlled by Corke, and several other
changes have taken place.

THE
‘

has proceeded to Calcutta to take up a temporary appointment in the Remount Department.

In consequence of the stress of i work
there have been few sporting events durino:
the past month, and although “ A ” Squadro;
made an attempt to play off for the Houstoun
Cup, and two matches were got throuoh in
tically all sports are suspended, and will not

be taken up again until after the Viceroy’s
departure. Even then, with Squadron and
Regimental drills opportunities for games
will be rare, and it will need all

transport.

Weston will be remembered as Sergeant in

charge of the scouts during the South African
war. He has just been awarded the
for Long Service and Good Conduct.

medal

Since the last recorded Spoon Shoot, three
others have taken place, the last two being

of the various players and committees bto
bring their tournaments to successful con»
clusions.
This being so, it is hardly likely that we
shall see just yet the long-promised start
made to reorganise the Regimental football
team. Since the ﬁne performance at Simla
when the Regiment secured the valuable all:
India. trophies, football instead of improvina
in class, seems to have declined, and probati-

ly not more than half a dozen games have been
played this last six months. What would appear to be required is a keen, playing ofﬁcer

Only one prize was awarded in the two
who would devote his spare time to the delatter meetings, there teing an

insufﬁcient

have r(cently had some good duck shootinor
in the neighbourhood, and during the Kim:

velopment of the available material, which is
certainly no inconsiderable quantity. With
the coming of the Highland Light Infantry to
Lucknow shortly, there should be no lack of
practice games, the H. L. I. being well

“A" Squadron was in camp,

we frequently

known in the football world.

had duck on our Mess menu,

and from all

number of competitors for a second spoon.
Two or three parties of four and ﬁve guns

accounts the Sergeants ol’ the Squadron had

several excellent duck shoots on the j/ieels
around Mohanlalganj, a short distance
their camp.

from

The latest catch-phrase in the Mess is
“ Did you get a cablegram?” but it is not
safe to ask the question of four or ﬁve of the
members. For the beneﬁt of those not in
the know, an explanation will be given in the

’next number of The. Eagle.

Meanwhile we

Wish the four or ﬁve the best of luck !
‘f‘ SERGEANT. ”

Sergt. Jeffrey, c Ratcllfle,
b Puddifoot
..

below :—

He will probably rejoin the regiment early in

March and go home by the last

“ D." Squanaou.

The score of the last two matches are given

SPORTS.

the de Lisle Cricket Cup Tournament, :iracSergeant Weston Who leaves the regiment
in March next after eighteen years’ service,

With regard to Hockey, Squadrons and the
Band can each put good sides in the ﬁeld, and
careful selection should produce a really
sound Regimental team. Few games have
been played of late, the last being against
79th Battery, R. F. A., on the 11th instant,
when our men were victorious by 4 goals to 2.
Holt, Rapkm, Fisher, and Gallatly were re‘
sponsible for the score.

many noteworthy happenings. The Lucknow Army Cup Week coming as it did, concurrently with the State visit of lzlis Excellency
the Viceroy and Governor—General of india.
l'ound us unusually busy, both professional—
The Regiment provided a
ly and socially
and a standing TravelEscort,
Field Ofﬁcer’s
ling Escort, as well as performing various
other similar duties during, and in connection with, Lord Minto’s stay in our famous
city, whilst the many functions. entertainments, and sporting events which were
squeezed into the " week " gave us ample opportunity for enjoyment, and transformed
"the ordinarily sober station into a City of
pleasure.

The Inspector-General of Cavalry in india ,
is, we are informed,

to make his annual in- ,

spection of the Regiment on the 4th and 5th
of January next, and itis arranged that the
whole Regiment will go into camp 3 few miles
north-epst of Lucknow, for the occasion. ‘
We move out on the 28th instant.

u
One of the chief attractions of the ” week '. ,

was the Polo Tournament for the Cup prev.
sented by the Royal Dragoons. The Narain
Singh Cup having been W011 outright by, the
Regiment two years ago, and the donor
having since died, this new cup was present- ‘

ed to replace the original, the tournament,
Perfect weather favoured us throughout,
and these conditions Continue to prevail, although the sudden cold snap is probably in
no small measure accountable for the many
cases of malarial fever which have occurred
of late in Lucknow, and in other parts of
India. With few exceptions these cases hare
been quickly and successfully treated, but
the malady is a most distressing one;

The Squadrons are still undergoing their
annual training, and “C " and ‘“ D " have had
a ten days” camp, the former at [sra Khera,
about ﬁve miles south of cantonments, and the
latter at Mohanlalganj, about three miles further south. Beingin the same neighbourhood
these squadrons arranged and brought off
two splendid “ battles” against each other,
in this way contributing much interest to the

_
.
_‘ ,.......-_——————. .ant‘, «9.....st
-‘4

conditions being similar to those under
which the former cup was competed for.

These conditions were that any team might '
enter, provided that not. more than two of its ’
members had played in the InterRegimenta1 or Championship Tournaments. The teams _
that entered this year

Racing this year was limited to three days.
the extra days allotted last year having proved ‘

a failure ﬁnancially.

Mr

Charrington, on '

the
leave from Calcutta where he is doing
the
were
Miles
Mr.
and
Paymaster's course,
only G. R‘s to represent the Regiment, and as

’1‘ H E
THE

19:.

usual acquitted themselves creditably: but
the regretted absence of Mr. Tomkinson at
home at the Cavalry School, has somewhat
diminished the number of successes stand
ing tothe credit of the Regiment in comparison with last year. On the ﬁrst day Mr,
Charrington was second on Captain Keighley’s Shazada in the Arab Hurdle Race, after
running unplaced in the previous race on
H. E. The Commander»in-Chief's Madrid. In
the Arab Hurdles Mr. Miles was fourth on
Mr. Rube's St. Gatien.
In the Closed Steeplechase for horses, Mr.
Charrington rode a well-judged race on Genl.

Eliott‘s Lookout and ran in to second place.
though he had no chance of beating the
winner, and repeating his success of last year
on the same horse. Mr. Miles had the mount
on Baron Athel, but fell half-way through the
race, fortunately without injury.

On the second day the chief event was the
race for the Army Cup, in which the Regiment had one representative in Captain

Grant's Little Exile, who ran so prominently
However, on
last year under a big weight
this occasion, he was unable to reproduce this
form and ran unplaced, the race being won

by an outsider. Mr. Miles rode Captain
Watkin “hiliams‘ Khalifa but was unplaced.
whilst Mr. Charrington on H. E The (‘om-

Lucknow

Chase,

in

which

race

Captain

Grant's Madeira failed to gain a place

The

Alam Bagh Plate, a handicap Arab race. was
in
won by Captain Grant's Little Exile, and
Cosens‘
Mr.
r
meeting.
the
of
race
the last
a
Umutbee started, but failed to runinto
place
The Army Cup week at Lucknow was fol1owed by a similar festive period at Cawrr

193

EAGLE
pore, during Which the chief attractions were
a Polo Tournament for the Cooper Allen Cup,
a Horse Show, and two days‘ racing. In the
Polo Tournament the Regiment entered a
team of snbalterns and a full account of their
performances appears in this number. In
the Horse Show, Mr. Miles distinguished
himself by gaining three prizes, a ﬁrst with
Dairyman in the Waler Pony class and
second with Bronze in the same class : also
a second with Uncas in the Arab class.
During the races Mr. Miles had two mounts,
one on Thakur Sripal Singh's Elsie in the
hurdle race for ponies in which he ran so
cond, and another on Mr. Murray’s Imtyas in
an Arab handicap, when he gained third
place.
The hounds have been meeting regularly
during the past fortnight and the se 18011 may
be said to have commenced in earnest. Meets
are usually in the early morning, when scent
is good and dew on the ground. but probably
our best hunt so far has been from an afternoon meetin the vicinity of Kokrail. On this
occasion hounds were away very quickly and
ran for twenty ﬁve minutes practically with»
out a check. Unluckily they were not rewarded with a kill. as it was getting dark and
the “jack ” managed to escape them. Crops
are still somewhat of. an obstacle to the hunting, but. a week or two should make a great .
difference in this respect.

mandcr-in-Chief’s Madrid was also unplaced
On the third and last day Mr Charrington
was second on Mr. Borton‘s Wales in the

E A Gr 1. E

A party of six guns from the Regiment
spenttwo days’ duck shooting at Sheogarh
last week, and accounted for

170 duck and

some various. There werca fair number of
birds, but nothing like the amount seen two
years ago after a normal rainfall. in three or
four successive years. However, the party
had a most enjoyable time and are much in-

debted to the local Rajah who put them up
and provided entertainment on a lavish Scale
in the shape of a native dance or “ nautch " '
and a. display of ﬁreworks.

On Friday, November 20th. the Regiment
was honoured by the presence in Mess of
H. E. the Viceroy, Lady Minto and Lady
Violet

Elliot,

whose

engagement

to Lord

Charles Fitzmaurice we announced recently.
His Excellency accepted an invitation to dine,
thus taking the opportunity of meeting the
brother otiiccrs of his daughter's future
husband. The party alsoincluded Sir John
and Lady Hewett. After dinner, theguests
proceeded to the Regimental Circus, where
was given the usual excellent performance,

an account of which appears later in this
issue.

The following letter explains the amusing
little story which will be found in this num'
ber :._‘
“ Dear Mr. Editor,——.\t the risk of being
thought egotistical, l send you a short anecdote of an incident which amused many of us
at the time, and which has often made others
exclaim “ What a liar you are ‘. ” However,
the tale is true, and you need not insert it in
The Eagle unless you like.

Miss May Cruse,

whom I knew as a child, has put into my head
to write something after reading her interest—
ing article in the October number—I am,
dear, Mr. Editor,
Yours,
ARTHUR M asHAM,

No account has yet reached us of the doings
of our old comrades at their reunion last
month,

but

the

following

cable

message

received in reply to a. cable from the

Ser-

geants Mess members, tells us that if num-

bers go to prove anything, the evening must
have been a most successful one : “Sergeants, Royals, Dilkusha, Lucknow—£50 old
’
comrades drink success.”

We are glad to publish a letter from the
Director of the Landour Soldiers Furlough
Home. Many of our men spend a part of the
hot weather at this home, and the institution
has proved a boon. Writing to the Com manding Ofﬁcer, Mr. Taylor says, “ .[ cannot
allow the season to close without letting you
know of the behaviour of the non-commissioned ofﬁcers and men of the Royals. This
has been one of our best years, and you-r
men have played no small part in the success we have had. Their conduct to a man
was just wonderful, and I may mention that

the Good Comradeship medal was won by
a Royal. I am naming the rooms next year

and placing plates on the doors

May I

have the pleasure of naming one after your
Regiment 2‘ [should be glad if you could let
your men know how muchi feel they have
helped towards the success we have achievA
ed “

Colonel
i

The following is taken from a. recent issue
of The Pioneer :#
“The Right Rev. Henry Frank Johnson,
"’ Bishop of Colchester, whose death is an»
ed at
-" nounced, was born in 1884, and educat

‘-’ Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He
“ was a Cornet in the 1st Royal Dragoons in
‘- 1855—56, and was ordained Deacon in

“
“
“
3‘

1855,

to
He was Archdeacon of Essex from 1883
in
ster
Colche
of
acon
Archde
189-1, and
the
1894, at the time of his appointment to
Bishopric of Colchester."

A concert in aid of the above Home was
held in the Regimental Theatre on the 131i)
to
ultimo, and a substantial sum was handed
g‘s
the Director as the result of a good evenin

the indisUnfortunately,
entertainment.
of the
position of Mrs. Steele robbed us
ons
selecti
piano
and
violin
much looked-for
to
were
Makins
Mrs.
and
lady
that
which
have performed.
The songs by Pte. Paton and Mr. Ander.
of the
son Went well as usual, but the hit

evening was the excellently rendered trio

- i.,.......“.“~mh

191

T H E

’1‘ [I it

EAGLE

and dance, by Mr, Irwin, Sergeant-Major
Cronin and OrderlyRoom Sergeant Fisher.
The band under Mr. Holt contributed to the

7 January. 1909, will see the birth ot’ our third
Volume, and we have hopes that this will
show a marked improvement on its fore

enjoyment of the evening.

runners.
A Merry Christmas and a Bright and Prosperous New Year to all our readers.

The band have proved conclusively that
they are masters of the art of entertaining.
Since their return from Naini ’l‘al, they have
given two “ Small and Eirly" dances in the
Gymnasium, both of which were quite de
lightful.

The bandsnien make capital hosts,

HISTORICAL RECORD
0f the First or the Royal Regiment of Dragoons, containing an account of its formation in the reign of
King Charles the Second, and of its sub-

and nothing is left undone to ensure the coinfort and enjoyment of their guests. It were

sequent services to the present time.

The

(Continued)

Continuing, in connection with the 11th
Light Dragoons. to cover the retreat to the
heights of lﬁusaco, the regiment was for med
in rescrvoduring the action of the 37th of

The Regiment loses a number of excellent
soldiers in the party of ﬁfty-nine noncommissioned ofﬁcers and men which left Lucknow on the 14th instant for Bombay to em»
bar}: on the 1-1. '1‘. “ Dongola" for England.
All these are. men who have completed (their
ﬁrst term of service with the Colours. and
are transferred to :the Ar». y Reserve: We
wish them the best of luck in their new life.
and hope to hear they are all doing well,
I

September. During the continued retrograde
movement to the celebrated lines of Torres
Yedras, the regiment held its post in rear and on the bth of October near Pombal, the
enemy pressing upon the line of march, a
picket, led by Lieutenant Garden, charged

ing,

captured

man.

both

wounded, were

The picket,
and

brought

notwithslazn'loil" a

French

With the issue of the present nuznber of
The Eagle, we complete our Volume ll. We
take this opportunity ot thanking all those
who have ass1stedin making our little Clll'Olll‘
cle the success it undoubtedly is. There
is still room for much improvement, but
without funds we can do nothing The

cavalry officer.

number of copies taken in the

This corps was too much for the squadroh,

The enemy‘s leading corps,

supported by heavy columns, still continuod

to harass the rear, and the temerity of mmcavalry was again checked on the Shh near

Quinta de Torre by a determined charge of a
squadron of the Royals, which drove them
bac-k with loss behind a corps of infantry.

present is far below the number taken last
year, although, on the other hand, the number
of our outside subscribers has increased,
Since the paper is run for the Regiment by

which, having received a volley,

the Regiment, it surely is only right that
each member should purchase a copy, and so

of
ed by the immediate advance of the whole
taking
cavalry
the
Lord Wellington’s army,
the lead.
From this date frequent extracts are made
from a journal kept in. the regiment from
1811 to 1816, which contains many details of:
a nature more intimate and accurate than are
to be found in more general accounts and
This journal, now in the posdescriptions
to
session of the regiment, was presented
49th
Green,
Captain
by
the officers in 18%
to
Regiment, whose father had been executor
Captain Sigismund

following up his advantage too far, the [lientenant and one

withdrew,

having 10st six horses killed. one sergeant.
major and two men wounded. and four men
wounded and taken prisoners.

Mugem,

whence they detached parties on picket and
outpost duty.
Massena, havingcxhausted his resources
and wasted the physical strength of his
troops, retired from Santarem on the night

gallantly, and drove them back with loss. but

taken prisoners.

degiineni at

St, Christel, and Porto de

follow“
01' the 3th of March, 1811, a movement

By General C. P. cle Ainslie.

superﬂuous to say that the music was a distinctly good feature of these dances.
band are to be congratulated.

the lithol' November, he retired. The day
after a picket of the regiment sent in pursuit
made prisoners a sergeant and eight French
dragoons.
The French now established themselves
upon the heights of Santarem, the Royal
Dragoons being stationed at Cuzalbiera,
Guinta,

0n the follow-

declined to attack, and, during the night or;

’l‘ral'ford

195

E A (i L E

of the Royal

Dragoons, whose nameis frequently mention
died
who
and
journal.
the
of
piges
the
in
ed
in Paris i i 1852.
At the. commencement of this advance of
menthe army, the condition of the corps is
tioned as follows :—~
t
“Previous to the advance, no regimen
were
than
order
perfect
more
in
be
(:ouid
were
the {oyals The horses at that time
an
Windsor had lately joined with
all black.
eighty horses,
excellent remount 01" nearly
effective,
which rendered each troop vory

m
“ As the regiment was tiling over Santare
by
bridge, Lord Wellington and his stall passed
the excel.
and were particularly struck with
tl.eir coats so jet
lent condition of the horses,
in fact it is not too much
black and shining.

in the
t) say, that there were not such grooms
days,"
those
in
were
Royals
world as the

On the 7th of March the regiment had a
skirmish with the enemy near Pecoloo, where

they took three prisoners, and had one man
and a horse wounded, and on the 11th, near
Pom bahthey took prisoners two sergeants and
twenty-six men.
Resuming the pursuiton the following day,

the army came upon a body of French cavalry,
artillery, and infantry posted on a high tableland near Redinha, where Lord Wellington
ordered the troops to form line of battle, the
Royal Dragoons being directed to suppert
the attack of the infantry. Three cannon
shots from the British centre were the signal
to advance, when at once a magniﬁcent scene

of war presented itself.

The woods seemed

alive with troops. and in a few moments 30,000
men, in three lines, were moving across the

plain in a gentle curve, while the cavalry and
artillery, springing simultaneously from the
centre and left wing, charged in the face
of a general volley from the French battalions, which were instantly hidden in
smoke, and when that cleared away they were

no longer to he seen,having made a precipitate
retreat to Condeixa.
Lord Wellington coniinuing his advance.
the Royal Dragoons, on the 14th of March.
supported a successful attack 1 l' the infantry
upon a French force, in

the

mountains

of

CasalNova, and again on the following day
they supported the attack upon the enemy's
pOsition at Foz d'Aronce.

()n the 18th, near

Sornadilla. they captured a sergeant,
men, and to elvc

mules,

twelve

on which occasion

they had only one man wounded.
On the 26th of the month, still hovering
near the French army, a- patrol 01" the regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Foster,
with one of the 16th Light Dragoons under

Lieutenant Peisse, attacked a detachment of
cavalry near Alverca with conspicuous
bravery, killed several and made prisoners
an oﬁ‘lcer and thirty-seven men.
On this affair a despatch from Viscount

Wellington of the 27th of March, 1511, says :*

"”""‘~e~.~.\,..

'1‘ H F

196

E A (i L E

“-1 have received a report of a Gallant
action of our patrols yesterdav efeninu
under the command of Lieutenant Peisse 3f

the 16th Light Dragoons, and Lieutenant
Foster, of the Royals, who attacked a detach
ment of the enemy's cavalry between Alverca
and Guarda, killed and wounded several of

them, and took the ofﬁcer and thirty-seven
men prisoners ”
The regiment had one man wounded in an
affair on the 28th of the month. when thev
captured an ofﬁcer's baggage near Ardes
'
On the 8rd of April, they were posted in
reserve during the action at Sabuaal and

followmg up the retreat of the F‘rentcb athey
captured some mules with bagoaoe at Alfa '~
ates.
“D a
3
On the 7th the Royals were sent to the
relief of a corps of Portuguese militia conimanded by Colonel Trant, which had’ taken

post near Fort Conception, and within half a
mile ofa brigade of French infantry, Th
destruction of this militia had seemed inevie~
table, when suddenly two cannon shots were
heard to the southward ; the French formed
squares to retire, when in

a

few minutes

51): squadrons of British cavalry, with a troop
of horse artillery, came sweeping up the
plain in their rear, and the Portugdese were
saved. The enemy, however, contrived to
effect their escape with the loss of about
three hundred men killed. wounded and
taken prisoners, with part of their baolrave'

the Royals took a drove of bullocks :3“: a
horse.
The Royal Dragoons were now in excellent
quarters at Barquilla, and had much

need of

the advantages they afforded, for since the
advance commenced on the 1st of March
their splendid condition seems to have con:
siderably fallen 01f, of which the chief causes

ly, the lamentable deﬁciencies of the Com missary,” which told severely upon both men and

THE

horses. At Barqnilla, liowever. vegetation in
the month of April was so for ward, that half
the horses were turned out to grass. and as the
frontiers ofSpain were as yet nnpillaved b
either army, the necessaries of life wergeasili:
3r ' "r Sibé‘eéliind
(iﬁfol'iZIi‘
'
thus‘ the month of' April went
I
The allied. army now blockadind Almeid‘
the Prince of Essling advancedhto relic *ai}
that place, and driving in the allied ilC‘li Vie
on the 2nd of May, Major-General Sladle‘ ‘ bef

grade-retired behind Nara de Vater
:h 1'1:
position with the army coverinO‘ the blockafi1
On the 3rd, about it am , the Fee'iment‘beiiie
drawn up in position, a l‘SlIlOLllli‘i/Of rift m D
and horses was brought up bv Cornety'l‘ 'efl
ford from Lisbon, bntduring the severe (j: ‘

test of this day in the village of Fluent:
d Onor, the regiment was not engaged
O:
the morning of the 5th, at lialf-‘pa-fst three
heavy tiring began on the right. and at l‘alf,
past'four the pickets were driven in with
cons1derable loss to the 338th Regiment and the

Portuguese.
Dragoons
Cornet

The picket of the 16th Licht

was also sharply

Belli wounded and

attacked

:lld

taken pl‘ls’MIBI‘

The Royals remained for four hours exposed
to a heavy cannonade, which fortunatel—
however, produced little effect. Several brili
liant charges were made during the da‘
i
one Of which Cornet Tratford distinoui‘fh Il1
himself, and the French Colonel Latodjr bbeieir
knocked off his horse surrendered to Lieutelo
ant Cubbins. Two squadrons ot‘ the Rb aluunder LieutenantColonel Clifton, also dad:
a most gallant charge upon the chem ’:
cavalry, took prisoners a sergeant and twr-ui: 3
four men, and released a party of the 4Foh7t
Guards, who had been taken by the French
A party of their cavalry made a splendid
attack, and captured two guns of Ca tain
Bull’s troop of Horse Artillery, wlilen a

squadron of

the Royal Dragoons

dashinor

forward, retook the guns and brought theii:
into the British lines, together with several
prisoners.

of the day,
It is related that in the course
upon his
pe
esca
ow
narr
most
a
“ Clarke had
l knockshel
a
old horse ‘Turk,’ inasmuch as
, and
over
ly
lete
comp
e
ed bot-h rider and hors
ke's
Clar
ed,
Inde
ant
dist
s
yard
burst a few
."
ered
suff
lly
troop was the one that principa
in
oons
Drag
l
Roya
the
of
'l‘hc casualties
four men
were
or
d'On
tes
Fuen
of
le
the batt
wounded, eighteen
killed and thirty-six
it was
wounded.
-twu
ﬁfty
and
d
horses kille

after which
altogether a very trying day,
Villa de
and
a
uill
they returned to Barq

Ceirva.
t of about
Whiiein these quarters a draf
es joined
hors
red
eighty men and one hund
nt Rose,
tena
Lieu
and
s
kin
Tom
with Captain
Life
the
the former by exchange from
Guards.
eida having
The. attempt to relieve Aliii
of May the
10th
the
of
t
nigh
the
on
d,
faile

up the
French garrison in that place blew
mn out of the
works, and rushing in one colu
blockading
the
town, made their way through
Villa.
upon
h
marc
r
thei
troops, and directed
Royal
the
e
ther
ing
find
but
de Ceirva,
direction to
Dragoons, they changed their
nt inc-air
chme
deta
The
Barbaﬂdel Puerco.
suddenly
out
ed
turn
va
Ceir
de
Villa
while at
French
the
took
in the night, pursued and over
column,

197

EAGLE

brought
which they attacked, and

e baggage,
off a sergeant, nine men and som
affair. The
the
in
d
nde
wou
men
two
ng
havi
ow up the
foll
to
d
inue
4th and 34th Foot cont
their retreat.
enemy,who,liowever, made good

emaLord Wellington now went into Estr
the
with
ined
rema
ls
dura, but the Roya
, DULLI‘
ugal
Port
of
s
tier
fron
the
on
left
forces
d to cover
Ciudad Rodrigo, and were statione
jo.
Espc
to
a
Egu
de
a
the front from Vill
(To be continued)

warfare,
After some months of desultory
Gates,
ral
Gene
r
unde
an American army,
16th
st
Augu
on
and
sh,
Briti
the
marched on
fought. Cornwas
en
Camd
of
e
Battl
the
ort of Lord
wallis, who had advanced in supp

a small
Rawdon, who held the place with
to the Ameriforce, was inferior in numbers
cans, but

in

the

ranks

of the latter were

in retreat,
many Militia, and these were soon
broke
eton
Tarl
carrying Gates with them.
d the
lete
comp
and
s
force
in on the retreating
been
had
train
ly
Supp
sh
Briti
the.
rout, but
he
and
day,
captured by Sumter the previous
Tarit.
of
on
essi
poss
in
had at once retired
ed after it
leton was immediately despatch
with 350 men, and after a

desperate march,

t they were
he came up with the enemy whils
Only about
day.
the
of
heat
the
restingin
after the
able
160 of the pursue-rs were avail
rode
eton
Tarl
e
thes
with
trying advance, but
and killed and
foe
ed
epar
unpr
the
down
s and recapwounded 150, taking 200 prisoner
in his des
walli
('orn
y.
turing the convo
was too briln
actio
“the
that
ared
decl
spatch
eton was receivliant for com ment,” and Tarl
ur. Lack of
hono
y
ever
with
ed by him
the following up
troops, however, prevented
the period of desul,
of this success, and zigiin

, a most gal.
toi‘y warfare ensued. Ferguson
s, was killed
lant British leader of Irregular. and his loss
il‘llll
lilOUll
in action on the King's
er. A des~
mand
com
his
by
felt
was severely
November 30th
perate conflict took place on
Sumter. when
ral
Gene
between Tarleton and
k with only
attac
to
ed
oblig
was
the former
gh at the
half of his force, and thou

of The Eagle
Bound copies of Volume 11
Orders should
will shortly be ready for sale.
disappointment.
be booked early to avoid
.
copy
per
MI.»
([39.
Price, Rs. :3

spatch, “ It is not easy for Colonel ’I‘arleton
to add to the reputation he has acquired in
this province, but the defeating of 1.000 men
posted on very strong ground and ou—upying
loghouses with 190 cavalry and so infanti y, is
a proof of that spirit and those talents which
must render the most essential services to
his country."

The end of the war. however, was approaching.

General Greene,

with

Morgan

and

William Washington, awaited at Cowpens a
force detached by Cornwallis under Tarle
ton to attack him, and on 17th January, 1781, a
sanguinary combat ensued. Tarleton arrived
at the scene of action after a long march, but
with his customary impetuosity promptly
attacked, and, at first, with signal succeSs
The British Infantry, however, pursued their
apparently beaten enemy too far and Washington, the American Cavalry leader, seeing
their disorderly advance, rallied the

Mary-

landers and checaed them, then rode through
the broken

line and compelled a

complete

surrender. ’Parleton in vain called on the
Cavalry Legion for a supreme effort, so
with

the

remnant of

the

17th

Dragoons

and al’ew mounted ofﬁcers, under 50 sabres
in all, he charged desperately on the victorious American cavalry, cutting his
way
through them, and himself engaging and
wounding
their
commander. Cornwallis
wrote of his conduct in the action, “January
17th must be classed among the extraordinary events of war.

Colonel

'l‘arleton's

dis-

positions and conduct of the action were as
unexceptionable as his previous manoeuvres
in forcing General Morgan to tight, were
able.” To Tarleton himself he added, "The
total misbehaviour of the troops could alone
have deprived you of the glory which was so
justly your due." Atlay’s comment on the
action is, “Tarleton lest the day because he
had metasoldier as skilful as himself and
troops more reliable than his own.”

Cornwallis having by this aﬂ'air lost a third

of his army, was no longer able to pursue an
offensive war. He fought one more action at
Guildt‘ord Court House, and was victorious
there over General Greene, 'l‘arleton deciding
the dry by a desperate Cavalry charge, in
which a sabre cut severed his right hand in
half. Though he had passed through iiiiiunierable dangers in the course of his perilous career, this was the only wound he
received in his years of warfare. The British army fell back on Wilmington and finally to Yorktown, ’l‘ai'leton commanding the
rear-guard and covering its movements. “ One
exploit of his relieved the gloom 01' the retreat," says Atlay, when he dashed in on Char~
lottevilleand captured several of the representatives of the General State Assembly,
only just missing Thomas Jefferson, the future President of America He was at Yorktown when the place was surrendered by
Cornwallis on October 18th, 1781, and the
army became prisoners of war, the longdrawn-out strife thus coming to a conclusion.
’l‘arleton was released on parole the l'ollowing year and returned to England. Here the
subject of our memoir terminated, at the age
of 27, his ﬁghting career. Though he held
various and high sabseduent commands, he
was never again employed on active service.
The King, George III, who, it was said, had
been prejudiced against him by the wild
doings of. the Legion—and disliked his adherence to the hated Whig party and his friendship t'or the Prince of Wales—refused to be
stow any mark of distinction on its Colonel.
[t is related how, in an

EAGLE

THE

interview

accorded

by His Majesty to the young commander
whose achievement-s had been some of the
few illuminating features of the last period
of the disastrous war, King George thus ad»
dressed him, " You have been in a great many

actions and had a great many escapes"—
a poor commentary indeed upon the services
which had established his reputation as the
most brilliant of leaders and rendered him

return
a popular hero in England on his
had
ry
Brave
s
eton'
“Tarl
from the war
of the
night
black
the
in
star
a
like
shone
tor of
American Campaigns ” adds the narra
sole
s
king‘
the
was
this
the interview, and
red
debar
gh
Thou
it.
of
nt
dgme
acknowle
carnfrom taking his share in subsequent
n oi his
paigns,*at the supposed instigatio
sovereign,—Tarleton's

life

was far

irom

He threw
beingr an idle oruneventful one.
energy
much
as
himself into politics with
battle,
of
ﬁeld
the
on
ayed
a: he had displ
of Parliament
er
Memb
me
beca
l790,
in
and,
an unsucv
for Liverpool, for which place (after
he was
seat)
the
on
1784
cessful atteinptin
ts free of
ituen
const
ing
admir
his
by
ned
retur
.years. In
expense for nearly twentyitwo
to Paris,
him
took
spirit
s
1792 his adventurou
of the Revodays
early
the
in
was
he
where
lution.

Philip
Dining one evening there with

any'we‘e
Egalllt‘, Duc D‘Orleans, the comp
in the
mob
a
by
t
repas
their
at
interrupted
the head of a \ViHD‘Ln
street bearing on a pole
“ by the. colour of
which ltgaliié recognized,
as being that of
said,
ciolly
he
as
the hair,”
This gruesome
the Princesne de Lamballe.
upon to salute,
called
object the diners were

and as Tarleton
“ of all those

subsequentl

present on

grimly wrote,

the occasmn mine

remained
was the only head which

on

its

.
later I
owner’s shoulders a year
iful
beaut
of the
In an interesting biography

Mary Robinson, “ E’erdita.” published in the
present)?“ many pages are given to'he-r
with ‘wliom. an intirelations with Tarleton,

latter his .retum
many had Commenced soon
continued till his mar.
~1'rom the war and which

1151, which he
of the Campaigns of 1780 and
.
‘
war.
to the
published subsequent
on
ibuti
contr
g
estin
inter
This work forms an
ction
cpnne
in
time
the
of
to the literature
on Lord Cornwallis
with it, but the strictures
the best of taste.
in
not
which it contains are

199

Cornwallis, then in India, wrote strongly
condemning what he considered the ungener‘
ous attack on him, and, indeed, ’I‘arleton’s
action in decrying the Commander by whom
he was so loyally treated and by whom his
services were so fully acknowledged, forms an
unpleasant feature of the book and much
detracts from its merits as a whole.
In 1791, ’I‘arleton was promoted to the rank
of MajorlGeneral. He was made LieutenantGeneral in 1801, and commanded the Southern
district of Ireland for six years from that

date.

He was appointed Governor of Berwick

in 1808, and subseiuently commanded the
Severn district. During the progress of the

Peninsular War—participation in which was
denied to him—lie was a severe critic in the
House of Com mons, ——where he spoke well and
frequently,—of the conduct of the various
campaigns. To him was assigned by common
report the authorship of the title of " Sepoy
General,” which was contemptuously applied
to Lord Wellington in the early period of the
at
war. Be this as it may, he would seem
the
of
opinion
any rate to have modiﬁed his
seconded
great Commander When, in 1812, he
House of
the
by
d
accorde
Thanks
of
the Vote
on in a
Wellingt
Commons to the suceessful

the
speech full of admirable appreCiation. of
his counto
him
by
d
rendere
services
great
try.

In 181.2 'l‘arleton

attained the rank of

1816 that, Lllll‘tyrsl-X
General, but it was not till

his meteoric.
years utter his return from
he had
honours
career in America, the belated
him.
to
d
accorde
were
ﬁeld
earned on many a
life On
public.
in
ation
particip
all
In that year,
ceased, lie was
the part of the King having
d With the
decorate
and
created a Baronet,

same time
Grand CrOSs ot' the Bath, , ud at the
s,
Dragoon
8th
appointed to the Co1onelcy oi the
his
he held until
now the Eth Bussars, which

hangs at Breakdtidtllite-size picture 0f him
que English
pictures
the
x,
spears in Middles
FarleAlfred
Mr.
nt,
descenda
his
home of

of the family,
ton, late Royal Navy, the head

THE

THE

200

EAGLE
a most enjoyroad, and on the whole we had

It is one of Sir Joshua Reynold’s masterpieces,
and displays the leader of the Legion in the
dress of that body. Taken when he was

gone out to Vryheid, where they took part in
a ﬁght at Scheepers Nek. Three of the Boer
leaders were killed and one (Potgieter) se-

twenty-eight years old, he appears in it in the

verely wounded.

full prime and vigour of life, a ﬁgure of unusual symmetry and athletic proportions. He
stands, in the picture, leaning forward and
downward, his right hand brought across the
body to adjust his sword-knot. A pair of stan'
dards lie at his feet, and in the background
an orderly holds the heads of two horses
is
straining at their bridles. The uniform
bonnd
Highla
of
quaint and striking—a species
net, brown in colour, and with large brown
the
and white hackles on the left side forms
ng
reachi
head gear. A short green jacket,
front,
in
open
and
waist
little below the

to him, he shouted “I’m hit,—I’m hit,” and
so he was, for a bullet had struck his handolier and forced two cartridges into his chest
he died shortly after wards ; on our side there
were two killed, both Natal Volunteers. A
few. days after our arrival at Newcastle, a
temporary bridge near lngogo collapsed and
a train fell into the spruit below. Fortunatelv
it was a goods train. We went out to cover the
working party whilst rebuilding, turning
out at 3-30 {1.111. and remaining on the Doom:
kop all day. Two days later an attack on
Utrecht was expected, and we turned out at

When our fellows came up

slashed and faced with gold and having a black

1 am. and marched to Umbana Kop, arriving

breeches
collar and cuffs. surmounts the white

at dawn. The attack, however, did not com:
off and we returned to camp in the evenino.
The following night I left camp with a dozebn

and deep-topped boots

which complete the

costume.

Sir Banastre Tarleton died at Lentwardine
for some
in Herefordshire, where he had lived
He
-nine.
seventy
of
age
the
years, in 1833, at
of
Duke
last
the
of
er
(laught
the
d
had marrie
leaving
and,
Ancaster, who long survived him,
extinct.
no issue, the Baronetcy became
follow.
the
with
article
his
Atlay concludes
are not so
annals
y
Militar
“Our
,
passage
ing
rank that
rich in Cavalry Ofﬁcers of the ﬁrst
Tarleton;
re
Banast
Sir
forget
to
afford
can
we
memory
the
to
honour
do
to
y
anxiet
nor in our
ants,
lieuten
his
and
of George Washington

soldiers
ought we to be unmindful of the brave a falling
for long years were the props of
who
n ﬁeld
house, and who on many a stricke
soldier
British
the
of
ion
sustained the reputat

names
for stubborn valour, and whose very of his-

men to escort a “cow ” gun from a point on
the Newcastle defences, called Windsor Castle
to Rooi Pynt near lngagane, a distance of
twelve miles ; this was to be done at night to
conceal the. movement from the Boers on the
Berg. It was a dark and stormy night, and
lhe rain fell in sheets. The road ran across
open country full of holes, trenches, dongas,
and other pitfalls for the unwary. Having
got the gun “under way," we struck out for
Rooi Pynt trying to distinguish road from
veldt by the sound of the horse’s hoofs—a
difficult thing owing to the wet ground. and
the fact that South African roads are un=
metalled tracks. After splashing along for an
hour and expecting every pace to arrive at

pages
are fast disappearing from the
tory.”

a drift where the road crossed a spruit. mv
horse stopped, snorted, and refused to go on.

SOUTH AFRICAN LETTERS.

I dismounted, struck a match under cover of

FORT

KONIGSBERG,

DRAKENSBERG Mrs,
3186 December, 1900.

DEAR M ,—
into NewOn the 11th instant we went
troops having
castle, headquarters and four

my cloak, and discovered that we had lost the
road and were on the bank of the spruit at a
place where we should have stood a splendid
gone
chance of breaking our necks had we
over. Not knowing which side the road lay
for the
‘wehad to retrace our steps and feel

our gun into
able time, but we managed to get
of one of
spite
in
,
reak
dayb
Rooi Pynt before
cold rain
a
and
seen,
1’ve
ts
nigh
est
the dark
driving in our teeth.
Konigsberg,
Christmas found us back at
ly of cold
supp
good
a
ived
rece
we
where

and pinebeef, ham, pickles, plum-puddings
as

y as far
apples, so we did not do so badl
day went on
the
that
nd
beyo
goes,
r
chee
good
vigilant at
as usual and we had to be extra
taken
have
t
migh
y
enem
the
night as
atan
make
advantage of the occasion to
tack.
Utrecht and
We hear that the Boers sent into
s, and said
demanded “ extras ” for Christma
wanted.
they
what
take
they would come and
, and
alert
the
on
were
son
garri
However, Ihe
y‘s
enem
the
in the attack, which followed
was
ian)
Russ
(a
r
leade
cool request, the Boer
thunderstorm
killed. We had a terrible
was charged
air
the
noon,
after
y
yesterda

flashes develheavily with electricity and the
heavy explolike
h
eart
the
to

oped very close
strikes the ground
sions of gas. The lightning
and
here

ting rocks
with terriﬁc force, split

and earth, whilst
throwing up tons of stones
ies it has a curithe thunder which accompan
by an ear splitwed
ous crackling sound, follo
ting report,

decreaswhich repeats itself,

submerged
ing in volume until it rolls away
evi-

storm was
in a fresh peal. Yesterday’s
of us were entwo
y,
heav
dently unusually
s with two Colonial
gaged in a game of card
cards down whilst
scouts and they put their
ht—anything that
heig
its
the storm was at
cards must be
ing
play
ial
Colon
a
can stop
It would
ary.
something out of the ordin
been for
not
had
it
if
sight
have been a. grand
the next flash
that
ng
feeli
e
tabl
an uncomfor
as a suitable object
might select one’s head
n

communicatio
through which to establish
r was

Artillery ofﬁce
with Mother Eirth. An
na hill on the 11th
Tala
on
ning
light
by
killed
.
instant.

201

EAGLE

erts has sailed for
We hear that Lord Rob

has
England. The following Farewell Order
been issued :—
“Being about to give up the command of
the army in South Africa into the able hands
ofGeneral Lord Kitchener of Khartoum, I
feel that l cannot part with the comrades with
whom Ihave been associated for nearly a.
year—often under very trying circumstances
—without giving expression to my pro
found appreciation of the noble work they
ry
have performed for their Queen and count
the
in
pride
my
and for me personally, and to
results they have achieved by their pluck
ion
and endurance, their discipline, and devot
to duty.
I greatly regret that the ties which have
d,
bound us together are so soon to be severe
army
the
with
n
for I should like to remai
but I
until it is completely broken up,
as Lord
that,
sion
conclu
the
to
come
have
take over
H. Kitchener has consented to
longer
no
is
nce
prese
the command, my
my duty
that
and
,
Africa
South
in
required
but I shall
calls me in another direction.
of this
men
and
s
ofﬁcer
the
never forget
als, ReguColoni
Navy,
Royal
they
be
force,
teers ', their
lars, Militia, Yeomanry, or Volun
to me, and
dear
very
be
s
alway
interests will
as long
army
I shall continue to work for the
as I can work at all.
n Force
The service which the South Africa
to think, unique
re
ventu
l
is,
rmed
perfo
has
as it has been
in the annals of war, inasmuch
for a whole year,
absolutely almost incessant

year. There has
in some cases more than a
recruit~no going
to
off
been no rest—no days
other campaigns
in
as
ers
quart
into winter

period. For
which have extended over a long
cold
in ﬁerce heat, in biting

months together
des——
and in pouring rain, you —my comra

ut a halt and
have marched arid fought witho
,

from the elements
bivouacked without shelter
had to continue
have
ently
frequ
and you
your
marching withyourclothesin

rags and

being of such great
boots without soles—time
sible for you
consequence that it was impos

‘ ""“H-qum

THE
202

to remain long enough in any one place to
refit.
When not engaged in actual battle, you have
been continually shot at from behind kopies
by an invisible enemy, to whom every inch of
the ground was familiar, and who, from the

peculiar nature of the country, were able to
inﬂict severe punishment while perfectly safe

themselves
You have forced your way through dense
jungles and over precipitous mountains,
through and over which, with inﬁnite manual
labour, you have had to drag and haul guns
and ox—wagons. You have covered, with

return to your homes and to ﬁnd those dear
to you well and happy, is the earnest hope of
your Commander.
(8d)

ROBERTS, FIELD-MARSHAL,
Johan ncsburc, 29th November, 1900.
Headquarters of the Army in
South Africa.”
Our late Commander, you will allow, is not
to be classed with the soldiers who cannot
wield pens. As you know, he has suffered
personally through the war as much as any

and that often on a very short supply of food,
and you have endured the sufferings, inevit~
able in war to sick and wounded men far
from the base, without a murmurmeven with

cheerfulneSs You have, in fact, acted up to
the highest standard of patriotism, and by
your conspicuous kindness and humanity
towards your enemies, and your forbearance
and good behaviour in the towns we have
occupied, you have caused the Army of Great
Britain to be as highly respected, as it must
henceforth be greatly feared, in South Africa.
Is it any wonder that I am intensely proud
of the army I have commanded, or that I
regard you, my gallant comrades and devoted
comrades, with affection as well as admirav
tion, and that I feel deeply the parting from
Many of you—Colonials as well as
you 2’
Britishers—I hope to meet again, but those,
I may never see more, will live in my memory
and be held in high regard to my life’s end.
I have learnt much during the war, and
the experience I have gained will greatly
help me in the work that lies before me, which
is, I conceive, to make the army of the
United Kingdom as perfect as it is possible
for an army to be. This I shall strive to do

May

God bless every member of the South African
may be all spared to
Army, and that you

ment at large.
for the beneﬁt of the Regi
ng my term of
whichI have gathered duri
ofﬁce
had to en
The difﬁculties which I have
within but
counter, have never come from
le plain
alitt
do
to
from without, and so I wish
names,
ng
ioni
ment
out
with
speaking, though
ers think that the
If, however, any of my read

that there is too much repetition of the same

my full sanction
cap will tit them, they have
to put it on.
to the bottom
I have never been able to get
nt there has
ime
Reg
of it, but throughout the
opposition to
of
unt
amo
ain
always been a cert
.
us.
the circ
n me
give
ys
alwa
squadron Leaders h rve
dron
Squa
e
som
but
rt,
uppo
their most cordials
things behind
done
have
rs
Majo
Sergeant
backs which, if I had
their Squadron [readers
have been well renot
d
reported them, woul
an instance. One S,
ceived. Let me give you
whole of the circus
S. M. took and burnt the
cost us some thirty
only
it
y
paddock Certainl
why do such a thing ‘1’
rupees to replace it, but
which the .5. S.
Another petty annoyance
every performat
one
e
caus
M’s invariably
duty and to take
ance, is to put the men on
n they know [we
whe
their horses for the ﬁeld
know it is the
I
ough
Alth
are practising.
to detail men and
Orderly Sergeants business
3. ms, as Iain
S
the
horses, still [accuse
without their
en
happ
not
d
quite sure it woul
that horses
is,
of this
consent. A direct result
have no
we
and
te,
get lamed at the last minu

This I attribute to the

them, as we only use
trained ones to replace

of us.
Yours,

0L 0L.

almost incredible speed, enormous distances,

with all my might. And now, farewell !

EAGLE

203

THE‘EAGLE

CIRCUS MANAGEM ENT.
It is now exactly three years since I made
my ﬁrst attempt at organising a circus, as
November l5th, 1905, saw our budding elforts.
We have given performances during the Army
and Civil Service weeks each year, and have

had the honour of performing before H. R. H.
The Princess of Wales, [-1. H. The Amir of
Afghanistan, H. E. The Con]mander-in-Chief,
The Lieutenant~Governors of Bengal and of
the United Provinces, Generals innumerable,
and ﬁnally before Their Excellencies The Viceroy and Lady Minto. Under such patronage we
have naturally been spurred to do our best,
and I think we can claim to have made some
advance.

Though what we ourselves feel is,

items year by year.

fact that I personally have been in charge of
the circus since its initiation, my ideas therefore have run in one groove, and I frankly admit that I cannot think of any new turns. In
consequence of this the performance of November 20th was my last as manager, and I can
only hope that my successor will have the
same cordial support. from the members of
the circus as I have received, as in this case
his duties will be as pleasant as mine have
been.
Before actually knowing who my successor

will be, 1 should like to point out a few facts,

last circus no less
as few as possible. At the
es were lamed in
hors
than ﬁve of our regular
, and this in
week
last
the
in
the ﬁeld with

sanction of the
spite of the fact that I had the
should

e horses
Squadron Leaders that thes
not be used.
dron Sergeant.
I fancy that some Squa
the impression
r
unde
are
Majors and others
in the circus have an
that the men employed

fortnight precedlnga
easy time during the
it is
assure them that
performance, but I can
e

they can spar
quite the contrary, and if

the

and see
time, I Should advise them to go down
cularly
parti
on,
goes
What
for themselves
ng actrcedi
gpre
days
e
thre
last
the
ng
duri
There are only some
cus perfor mance.
and nearly half of
told,
all
twenty members
ot come to help.
cann
who
s
eant
Serg
are
these
was over, I
nce
After our last performa
commissionnony
ever
st
almO
found out that
ed for duty
warn
been
had
man
and
r
olﬁce
ed
we had the
when
on the following day. This,
t a full
mean
h
whic
ntle,
disma
to
whole place
less to say
Need
man.
y
ever
for
work
day’s
and I only
I cancelled this arrangement,
s with
ultie
difﬁc
petty
the
quote it to show
The last perwhich one has to contend.
by the men
formance we gave was marred
had had
they
work
the
from
being over-tired
one instant
to (loan day. I don‘t suppose for
led in even
that you realize the work entai
s, but havplace
their
into
s
chair
putting the
ation for
ing to arrange seating accommod
that is what we
some 2,000 spectators, and
s much more
mean
nce,
orma
perf
had at the last

work than you know of.
I think disNow another very serious, and
deal of deligraceful, matter is that a great

, in conse.
berate fraud takes place at the gates
ators, and
spect
of
er
numb
quence of which the
n do not
ssio
admi
for
paid
have
who
er
the numb
h this
whic
in
ways
agree. I know of several
beneﬁt of those
has been done, and for the

this and see
who did it, I hope they will read
.
paper
on
how their actions look
to 3nd and
“ Soldiers in uniform half-price
went up to
orm
unif
in
er
soldi
A
.“
seats
8rd
six seats
some
took
the 2nd class box-ofﬁce and
price to
full
at
led
retai
he
these
:
at half-price
swell
not
did
some civilians, but the balance
the circus receipts.

ker being
The gate-keeper and the money-ta

er for the one
in collusion, it is a simple matt
other passes
the
t
to take the money, whils
t.
ticke
a
out
the man in with
has been freIt is also quite simple and
their tickets
ing
pass
quently practised, men
These
de.
outsi
ing
wait
back to others

20"

THE EAGLE
3204‘

THE

examples should suﬁice to show that we are
quite alive to what goes on, though so far I

have been unable to entirely cope with it.
At the last performance I think I am right
in saying that more men of the Regiment
patronised us than ever before. Now let us
just glance at the receipts from Squadrons
for tickets sold.
"A” Squadron. Rs. 14-0—0 which represents

“1;"

..

0-80

..

..

”C”

u

9-8-0

"

“

an

..

2-8-0

..

..

23
1
19
5

men
man
men
men

or, in other words, 53 men out ofa total of ,

623 in the Regiment.

Of course, some paid

ready money at the door, and also the Sergeants are not reckoned in the above nu mbers.
Now why is it that so few men come, it is not
because the canteen is Open, as we do not
begin till 9-30, nor should it be on the score of
its being a bad show, as I am quite sure that
it isavery good eight annas” worth. Is it

perhaps that men think it not worth while
going to see others doing what they think they
could do just as well themselves. (We are
always ready to welcome new talent.) Or, is
it simply the old original grievance that I
will not allow spectators during rehearsals
This I had to stop, owing to the fact that big
crowds used to come every night and then on
the night of the performance, because they
were asked to pay eight annas for their seats,
they stayed away.
After all this is allittle unreasonable. You
do not expectit in the case ofaconcert, so

why should you at the circus?

Were I to

retail the flattering remarks I have heard
made by generals, by ofﬁcers of other regiments, by civilians and by managers of pro.
fessional circuses, you would perhaps realize
that our efforts are not altogether unappreelated by the outside public, and consequent
1y that, instead of standing aloof from our
Regimental Circus, you should support it by
every means in your power. We now stand
in need of some fresh talent, and this is the
time for them to make themselves known to
S. S. M. Corke and to start working up new

EAGLE
turns, for the next performance which will, I
suppose, take place during the Civil Service
week. They must come forward in good time,
as the ordinary fortnight’s practice which

is enough for old members to work up their
turns in, is not sufﬁcient for new ones.
G. F. STEELE, Major.
“A FAIR 0R FOUL CATCH,”

Forty—ﬁve years ago, after an enjoyable day
at Henley Regatta with my wife, we got into
the train at Henley on our way back to Aldershot. Old Royals will recollect the double

compartment carriages on the G. W. Railway
before the broad-gauge was replaced by the
narrow-gauge, each compartment being se-

holding

four persons each.
A lady and gentleman got in and sat,
opposite to us, the lady facing me. She was
decidedly pretty and very well dressed, and

he was tall and goodlooking and well got up,
In those days—the days of my youlh~
I was very fond of cricket, and had the reputation of being a gOod ﬁeld and asure
catch. Well, the lady and gentleman afore—
said began to quarrel, for she wanted the
blind of the window between the two compartments up, evidently wishing to be able
to see some one in the next compartment
while the gentleman was determined to hard
it down. They became very angry with each,
other, and at last, the day being very hottheir wordy warfare sent me, like Uncle
Browser, to sleep. My dreams were pleas
ant, for I played over again a cricket match
at Oxford ofafew years before, when I made a
very ﬁne running catch at long~leg which won
the match.
I made the catch over again,
but alas ! my hands came violently against
each cheek of the lady’s face Opposite which,
in my dream, was the ball. “Oh ! Arthur,"

exclaimed my horriﬁed wife.

But grasping

the situation as well as the lady ’5 face, I was
wide awake at Luce, and in a second huri iedly

I may add that

.
became very friendly

at
the lady and gentleman

Lord’s

the nex

I took off my hat,
day, and when she bowed
I did the
as cheekily as
but did not treat her

day before.

AN EPISODE OF‘ HENLEY.

parated by a door and windows, and

the lady, after re.
explained matters, so that
and sudden smack,
covering from my severe
epted my humble
acc
was highly amused, and
manner. There:
ng
rmi
cha
apology in avery
after that, and we al
was no more bickering
I met";3

TOURNAMENT.
LUCKNOW POLO
.
ROYAL DiiAGOONs‘.’ CUP
played out on alterThis tournament was
-

my Cupweck and pro
nate days during the Ar
notablythose

matches 2,
duced some excellent
and. Rod son s. H01 5:,
nt
ime
between the Reg
t e
Semi-final against
and the match in the
y
tor
Vic
ry. ‘IIn both these
Durham Light Infant
t,
pom
one
of
row margin
was gained by the nar
n
er extra time had bee
aft
y
onl
t
ﬁrs
the
and in
h
17t
The

Widened.
played and the goals
the Cup With some
won
y
all
ntu
Lancers eve
in the final by

iment
ease, beating the Reg
y
they were far and awa
but
;
ten goals to three
on
won
and
on
competiti
the best team in the
all
ground played well
e
Th
.
its
mer
ir
the
e
hav
dit to those who
through, and does cre
had charge of it.
First Round.

9TH Hooson’s
ROYAL DRAGOONS vs.
HORSE.

very level and fast,
The ﬁrst chukker was
Early on a foul was
.
but nothing was scored
se and they had to
Hor
’s
son
diven against Hod
n
m between their ow
bring the bill out fro
fast

flags.

mostly
The second chukker-was
nces
Royals missed two cha

and level, but the
in
were hot onthe attack
of scoring when they
kker
chu
rd
thi
the
In
their rivals’ ground.

once and scored.
Hodson’s Horse attacked at
acking in. their
att
by
The Royals retaliated
r ﬁrst

le scored thei
turn and Colonel de Lis
the rest of the chukFor
.
shot
ﬁne
a.
h
point wit
ng. Score—one goal
ssi
ker theRoyals were pre
r play continued in
kkc
chu
rth
all In the fou
ards the end of the
midﬁeld for a time, but tow
down and scored a
ran
period, Hod son’s Horse
was uneventful, except
Goal. The ﬁfth chukker
l de Lisle, which went
lfor along shot by Colone
r the Royals had the
kke
wide In the sixth chu
Colonel de Lisle manbest of the struggle and
a well directed snot.
aged to equalise with
of the chukker the
der
During the remain
ts at goal, but failed
Royals had two more sho
Score—two goalsjall.
toincrease their total.
ened, and the first
wid
now
The goals were
. Play ruled fast up
extra chukker com menced
but the Royals once
and down the ground,
goal and time came
at
nce
more missed a cha
score. In the second
withoutalteration in the
Horse ﬁrst attacked,
extrachukker Hodson’s
e. Then the Royals
wid
out
butthe ball went
back, and Major
worked the ball gradually
n and scored the
dow
Makins getting on ran
s ended in our
thu
ch
mat
The
deciding goal.

attacked and scored a goal. The third chukker was a fast one and full of incident. The
Durhams scored a goal at the outset as a result
of a hit in by the Royals, who then had two
runs to their opponents’ ﬂags without result.

Then just before the period ended,theDur hams
scored a third goal.

goals: Royals, O

Score—Durhams, three

In the fourth chukker the

Royals played up splendidiy and were attacking all through. After overcoming stout
opposition on each occasion, they put on two
goals, thus bringing the score to three goals
to two. In the ﬁfth chukker play began in
midﬁeld. Then Colonel de Lisle worked the
ball up and with a neat shot equalised at three

goals all.

In the sixth chukker the Royals

attacked soon without result, but making a
fresh attempt, Miles got on and put up a goal
witha clean shot. The Durhams were then
aggressive, but time was called without any
further alteration in the score. Tue Royals
thus won an exciting game by 't' >ur goals to
three. Colonel de Lisle played ﬁnely at back
and the remainder of the tetm all played up
well.
Tcmns.~Ro,yal Dragoms : as in the ﬁrst
round.
Durham Lignt Infanl ry: Capt, Matthews, l ; Mr. Turner, 2: Major
Luard, 8; Capt. Wallace, back.
Umpires—Messrs. Pollock and A. A, Tim,

The other match

in

this,

the

semi-ﬁnal.

round resulted in a win for the thh Lancers,

who beat the 18th by 7 goals to one.
Final,

THE RoYAL DRAGOOSS H" 17rd Limcans.
Major Makins having injured his knee in
the previous round, his place in the team
was ﬁlled by Mr. Irwin. Though the 17th

ran upa large score, the game was not so
onesided as might at ﬁrst

appear,

fm. the

Royals made a ﬁne ﬁght against their power fa]
opponents at- times; and they were always so
verely handicapped through allowing the 17th
to puton so many goils quickly at the com-

EAGLE

207

EAGLE
mencent before properly settling down to the
game themselves. In the ﬁrst chukker the
17th Lancers were always on the offensive
and actually put on four goals in quick sue»
cession
In the second chukker, the 17th got
on immediately and through the elforls ol"
Nutting added one more goal to their score.
The Royals then attacked and Miles had two
unsuccessful runs, both shots going wide. In
the third chukker the Lancers added another
pointat once ; and on changing ends ran the
ball again into the Royals ground, Here out
of melee in frontof goal, the Royaisin attempting to save, put the ball through their
own goal. making the score against ihem—
seven goals to love Before the chukker ended
the Lancers added one more goal. Scoreﬁ
eight to love. In the fourth chukker Miles
had a clear run and scored the ﬁrst goal for
the

Royals.

Later, the Royals pressed and

Miles had two unsuccessful shots at goal.
The Lancers then attacked, but the Royals
reScued the ball and ran it down to the

17th Lancers : Mr. Nutting, Capt.
Melville , Mr. Turner and Capt.
Lockett (back).
Ell/[IIIICn-vhliljﬂl' Luard and Mr. A. A. 'i‘od.
CAWNPORE TOURNAMENT.
C‘uOI’lCR ALLEN POLO CUP.
'l‘he Regiment sent in a team of suhalteriis
to compete for this cup, the tournament being
held during the Cawnpore week. Our team
consisted of Messrs. Miles, Irwin,

Iloustoun

and Rube. They met the Willshire subalterns
in the ﬁrst round and easily defeated them by
‘7 goals to love. ln the next round we suffered
defeat at the hands of the ﬁlth Hodson‘s Horse
by 5 goals to 3.
The competition is open to any team, piovided that not more than two players in it
have competed in the Inter-Regimental or
Championship 'l‘ournament, or more than
three players in Infantry or Native Cavalry
Tournaments during the last three years.

Fourth C/Lilk/i'm'.—Mlles scored a goalalmost
at once, running down from the throw-in.
Play continued in our opponents‘ half for the
rest of the chukker.
Score—Royals, 4;
Wilts, U.
Fi/‘lh (1/ml:ker,—Play opened in our half, but
Houstoun relieved pressure, and the forwards
running it down scored a goal. Later, Miles
got on and scored again with aclean shot.
Scoreﬂﬁoyals, 6 ; Wilts, O.
Sz'mfh 0/mlrlrer.——Tlie Royals once more
attacked at the close of the game and scored
one .nore goal.

1N. 4,.‘ltu/rlmz—A line galloping bout from
ﬁrst tolast. but nothing was scored. Hous-

ROYALS Soizaitranxs us. li‘iL'rsninn

toun had a clear run, but his ﬁnal shot missed

Lancers end where C rlonel de Lisle, after one

repulse, scored with a ﬁne shot. Score-winncers, eight: Royals, two
In the ﬁfth chukker the Lancers added yet another goal, but
soon after the Royals retaliated and through

the efforlsof Miles, brought their
thiee.

score

to

Score—Lancers, nine: ioyals, three.

The sixth chukker was even and hotly contested, till Lockett got on and carried the bull
near the goal,where after a slight check it was
put through. Play then remained in midfield
till the call of time. The 17th Lancers were
thus successful by ten goals to three. For the

toyals Colonel de Lisle and Miles were best,
but the team once again showed great weakness in shooting at goal, and in stick play were
much inferior to their opponents, who bid fair
to become one of the best sides in India, and
were certainly far and away the best team
in this tournament.
Tamils—Royals : Messrs.
Irwin,
MileS,
Houstoun, and Colonel de Lisle
(back).

SUBALTEKKS.

Firs! (.‘ltnlclrer.—'l‘lie Wiltshires commenced
attacking, but Boustoun relieved pressure;
and the Royals then pressed for the remainder of the chukker without result.
Swami ()1m/rke)‘.——'l‘ne Royals attacked early,
but our opponents got the ball away into our
ground, when Milcs‘ pony came down, and the
game was stopped. On resumption, the ball
was driven up and down, until the Royals at
last made good an alt-ick and scored the ﬁrst
goal. The Royals attacked again before the
endcftlie chukirer, but the Wiltshires inanaged to save. Score—Royals, 1 goal.
Third o/iii/r/rcr,—Play was conﬁned to the
Wiltshires‘ end most of the chukker, the

the goal.
2an Uhn/r/reiweE’lay commenced in midﬁeld.
until the 9th got a run to the flags. The ball
struck the goalposi and rolled back, and the
Ro} als carried it to midﬁeld. Here Houstoun
got on and, with a very ﬁne run, scored the

attmk by the Royals, Atkinson again ran
down and Fraser with a back-hander put the
ball through. b‘core ~H-idson’s Horse, 3 goals;

Royals, 1 goal.

In this chukker Capt

Row-

croft’s pony came down and the rider was
hurt
His place was taken
by Duffatla r
Fnttch .Vl ohain iued

Royals

making two unsucceSsl’ul shots

at

lllz ('Iin/r/r-r.—:\lmost at once Ir‘riu scored

goal. Subsequently they sent the ball th rough,
and just before time scored again after a
lcear run. Score—Royals, 3 : Wilts, 0.

for the Royals after a good run : and then at
the end the 9th scored out of a scrimm tee in

front of goal.

Hodsons Horse, 4: Royals, L‘.

A. . ..,.,.—.....~...,,.‘..,.

THE

208

'1‘ H E

EAGLE

51h (Vwkker—The 9th added another goal
through combination between Atkinson and
Fraser. The Royals then pressed. but nothing

battalion proceeds to Burmah, and we lose
thereby many friends and good fellows.

further was
Royals, 2

at a series of games and a smoking concert
in the Mess Room, and spent a most enjoyableevening. Our'good wishes go with them.
There is little or nothingr else to record at
present. Work, hard \Vt‘l‘K. is still the order
of the day and in consequence of the coming
of the Inspeclor-Generiil of (lav-airy early in

scored.

Hodson‘s

Horse, 5 :

6th (,‘Izulrker.-—Miles was prominent at this
time, and soon scored with a ﬁne shot. Later,
he had another run, but his shot just missed
the goal, the 9th Hodson‘s Horse thus winning
by 5 to 3.
It was a good. hardhitting. galloping game
all through Mr Houstoun played very ﬁnely
at back, and of the rest 'Mr, Miles was best.
Teams wRoyals—ﬂs in ﬁrst round :—
llth Hodson‘s Horse: Mr Tigers.
l ; Mr Fraser, 2:Capt Rowcroft,
3; M r. Atkinson, back

(Vanities—Capt. Pollock and M 1‘. Grey.
The Cup was ultimately won by the Durham Light Infantry who beat Hodson's Horse

Edwards, ’l‘imson

ladies came. out on the some boat from

line'—

land and were met and married immediately
on landing. We were very anxious to have
the details of the ceremony, but as. owing to
the great distance of Karachi from Lucknow,
and the reticence in this regard on the part
of the participants, we isnow nothing, we
can only give play to our imagination. We
prophesied endless confusion and mixing up
of brides and bridegrooins (they had not seen
each other for nearly live yearS). but as each
groom swears he has his right ‘oride, we
supposeit isall well. it, however, is rumoured that the party had .- o'ne amusing experiences during the long train journey down
country from the seaport. Anyway, we
extendahearty welcome to the ladies and
wish them much happiness in the Regiment.
This will explain our reference to the " Cablegram " in last month‘s Eagle, the cableérain being the announcement that the

brides elect had sailed from home.
This month saw the departure from Lucknow of the Oxfordshire Light infantry. The

HAND.
M.

Cowlnys

,

Weeks,

l

Piivates

the

and nouns.

. Sergeant Sutch.

Musical Ride

By Royal Drngoons.

Kins't'al Direclor

Handmuster Holt.

January.
our Christmas festivities must
necessarily be of the "' cut and inn ” order.

Manager

H. $.31. I. F. and (l. t'orl;e.

Ring Master

5. S. ‘J. It. H. L'ope.

It is on the cards that scvernl important
changes will shortly take place in the mess.
hutniote of this anon. Meanwhile we assure our old friends of our heartlest wishes
for a Merry Christmasond a Happy New
Ytar, and will, its usual on the 25th, toast
“ Our old Comrades.”
U’ Si-iiitiicAX'r.”

Megaphone

R. Q

«on-mi

-: .

SERGEANTS’ MESS NOTES.

and l'iatctliti'e led their respective hlusning
brides to the altar of 'l‘rinity Church. The

t8. S. M. (‘Ofii{e. S. N.
i. F‘. N G lorkc.

iCorpis Faricll and Wyatt.
storpouils Lockyer, Cast,

Roman Riding.r

The performance given by the Reeimontal
Circus on the itltli of last month was, in spite
of many difﬁculties, 9. IlltiSti"XCGllGlll one, The
occasion was rendered all the more important
hV the presence of Their l:;_\t’t;'lll‘1‘.CiPS the
Viceroy and Lady Minto wlzo were acrohpanr
ed by Lady Violet Elliot, and a small party.
There were present also Sir John and Lady
Hewett. and a. goodly nu in her of residents and
visitors, as well. as a large gathering: of
iron} 5. A liox had been erected for the Vice
regal party, who dined previously with the
ofticersand took their seats at tlioconimcncement of the show.
The turns, with slight variation, were the
same as have been seen on former occasions,

and were splendidly executed, and deservedThe program me was as
ly well received.

lencies stayed until the end and expressed
Itenisolvts delighted with the performance.
lvlajor Steele and Screw nnthIajor Corrie are
to be congratulated on the result of their
eltorts, as are, also, all those who took part
and played up so splendidly.

Sergeant Stitch's riding, as usual, elicited
much admiration, and S. S. M. 0% e. Pte.
M 1111103, and the Cowboys were very popular
turns.
rlhe clowns were always amusing,
and Sergeant lx’apkin‘s performance with his
dog “ Waxer " and Mr. tribe’s handsome
white hill-pony, \Villiam Henry. was distinctly funny.
"i he band, under Mr. Holt, worked hard and
crntributed, in addition to the incidental
music. some line

2th

l-‘toyal Dragoons’ Hand.

’l‘iiple Iloi izontal Rai 5

THE REGIME ‘-.TAL CIRCUS.

Lawrence, and Sergeants

..

Prior to their leaving, we entertained them

in the ﬁnal by eight goals to two

The mostiinportant event of the month in
connection with the Sergeants Moss, is the
which came off at
quadruple wedding,
Karachi on December .ith. when S Q. M. 5.